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Class 15 



PRESENTED BY 



ANECDOTES, 

ILLUSTRATIVE OF A SELECT PASSAGE 



EACH CHAPTER 

OF THE 

OLD TESTAMENT. 



JOHN WHITECROSS, 

AUTHOR OF " ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE ASSEMBLY S 
SHORTER CATECHISM," &C. 



SECOND EDITION. 



EDINBURGH: 
WILLIAM OLIPHANT AND SON, 

7. SOUTH BRIDGE STREET ; 

SOLD BY WILLIAM COLLINS, AND GEORGE GALLIE, GLASGOW? 

W. M'COAIB, BELFAST; W. CURRY & CO. DUBLIN; 

AND HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. LONDON. 






MDCCCXXXVT. 



£&» 



11 



%*bfa 



DeinAHl-icnitt 



EDINBURGH '. 

H. & J. FfLLANS, PRINTERS, 7| JAMES'S COURT. 



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PREFACE. 



The Compiler of the following Work having, with 
a very few exceptions, supplied, in a former pub- 
lication, each chapter of the New Testament with 
two anecdotes, was naturally led to turn his at- 
tention to the Old Testament, with the view of 
completing his plan. In some of the Books of 
Moses, the Chronicles, the concluding chapters of 
Ezekiel, and some other parts of Scripture, con- 
siderable difficulty was felt in getting anecdotes 
to bear on particular passages, and after all, the 
connection may, in several instances, appear re- 
mote. The candid reader will in such cases make 
allowance. The Compiler has been careful not to 
admit anecdotes of a light and humorous kind, more 
calculated to afford amusement than to make any 
serious impression on the mind. Passages may occur 
to the recollection of the intelligent reader, to which 
some of the anecdotes elsewhere applied may be 
thought more appropriate; their application to 
these passages, however, would have displaced others 
from a situation that appeared the most proper. 



IV PREFACE. 

Unless it may have arisen from oversight, none of 
the anecdotes in the last editions of the other com- 
pilations of the author have been admitted into the 
present volume. Where the Old Testament is read 
through in order by children, either in a family or 
school, an anecdote will be found under each chap- 
ter, the reading, or relating of which, may give the 
exercise an additional interest, and impress some 
truth of the Word of God more strongly on the 
mind. 

Edinburgh, November 1835, 



ANECDOTES 



OLD TESTAMENT. 



GENESIS. 



Chap. i. ver. 16. — God made two great lights; 
the greater light to rule the day. 

The late Dr Livingston of America, and Louis Bona- 
parte, Ex-King of Holland, happened once to be fellow- 
passengers, with many others, on board of one of the North 
River steam-boats. As the doctor was walking the deck 
in the morning, and gazing at the refulgence of the rising 
sun, which appeared to him unusually attractive, he passed 
near the distinguished stranger, and, stopping for a mo- 
ment, accosted him thus : " How glorious, Sir, is that 
object!" — pointing gracefully with his hand to the sun. 
The Ex-King assenting, he immediately added, " And 
how much more glorious, Sir, must be its maker, the Sun 
of Righteousness !" A gentleman, who overheard this 
short incidental conversation, being acquainted with both 
personages, now introduced them to each other, and a few 
more remarks were interchanged. Shortly after, the doctor 
again turned to the Ex-King, and with that air of polished 
complaisance, for which he was remarkable, invited him 
first, and then the rest of the company, to attend a morning 
prayer. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the invitation 
was promptly complied with. 

Chap. ii. ver. 3.— And God blessed the seventh 
day, and sanctified it. 

" It is a little remarkable," says Captain Scoresby, in 
his voyage to Greenland, " that during the whole of the 
voyage, no circumstance ever occurred to prevent us engag- 
ing in public worship on the Sabbath day. In a few in- 
stances, the hour of worship could not be easily kept, but 
opportunity was always found of having each of the services 
in succession on a plan adopted at the commencement of 
a2 



GENESIS IV. 

he voyage. And it is worthy of observation, that in ad 
instance, when on fishing stations, was our refraining from 
the ordinary duties of our profession on the Sunday ever 
supposed, eventually, to have been a loss to us, for we in 
general found, that if others who were less regardful, or had 
not the same view of the obligatory nature of the command 
respecting the Sabbath day, succeeded in their endeavours 
to promote the success of the voyage, we seldom failed to 
procure a decided advantage in the succeeding week. In- 
dependently, indeed, of the divine blessing on honouring 
the Sabbath day, I found that the restraint put upon the 
natural inclinations of the men for pursuing the fishery at 
all opportunities, acted with some advantage, by proving 
an extraordinary stimulus to their exertions when they 
were next sent out after whales. Were it not out of place 
here, I could relate several instances in which, after our 
refraining to fish upon the Sabbath, while others were thus 
successfully employed, our subsequent labours succeeded 
under circumstances so striking, that there was not, I be- 
lieve, a man in the ship who did not consider it the effect 
of the divine blessing." 

Chap. iii. ver. 15. — I will put enmity between 
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her 
seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise 
his heel. 

During the Arian controversy, at a general meeting of 
the ministers of London, at Salters' Hall, Mr Thomas 
Bradbury had been contending, that those who really be- 
lieved the doctrine of Christ's divinity, should openly avow 
it ; when, to bring it to the test, he said, " You who are 
not ashamed to own the deity of our Lord, follow me into 
the gallery." He had scarcely mounted two or three steps 
before the opposite party hissed him ; when, turning round, 
he said, " I have been pleading for him who bruised the 
serpent's head ; no wonder the seed of the serpent should 
hiss." 

Chap. iv. ver. 8. — It came to pass, when they were 
in the field, that Cam rose up against Abel his In-o- 
ther, and slew him. 

Mr Clarke, in his Examples, relates the account of two 
French merchants who were travelling to a fair, and while 



GENESIS YII. 7 

passing through a wood, one of them murdered the other, 
and robbed him of his money. After burying him, to pre- 
vent discovery, he proceeded on his journey. The dog of 
the person murdered remained, however, by the grave of 
his master ; and, by his loud and continued howling, at- 
tracted the notice of several persons in the neighbourhood, 
who, by this means, discovered the murder. The fair being 
ended, they watched the return of the merchants. The 
murderer no sooner appeared in view, than the dog sprung 
furiously upon him, who being apprehended, confessed the 
crime, and was justly executed. 

Chap. v. ver. 22. — Enoch walked with God. 

Dr Cornelius, of North America, whose death was some- 
what sudden, said to the writer of his life, " Tell your own 
dear people, from me, that they hear for eternity. Last 
Monday I was in the world, active, but now I am dying; so 
it may be with any of them. O, if they would but realize 
the solemn import of the fact, that they hear for eternity, it 
would rouse them all from slumber, and cause them to at- 
tend, without delay, to the things which belong to their 
eternal peace. Tell Christians to aim at a higher standard 
of piety, and to live more entirely devoted to Christ and 
his cause. When one comes to die, he feels that there is an 
immeasurable disparity between the standard of piety as it 
now is, and as it ought to be." 

Chap. vi. ver. 3.— And the Lord said, My Spirit 
shall not always strive with man. 

A young woman, who had lived negligent of the great 
salvation, not long before she died, burst into tears, and 
said, " O that I had repented when the Spirit of God was 
striving with me ! but now I am undone." She afterwards 
exclaimed, " O, how have I been deceived ! When I was 
in health, I delayed repentance from time to time ! O that 
I had my time to live over again ! O that I had obeyed 
the Gospel ! but now I must burn in hell for ever. O ! T 
cannot bear it ; I cannot bear it !" Not long before she 
died she said, « Eternity ! Eternity ! O, to burn through- 
out eternity !" 

Chap. vii. ver. 9.— There went in two and two 
unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as 
I'ocl had commanded Noah. 



$ GENESIS IX. 

The dominion originally given to man over the inferior 
animals, is still, in a great measure, maintained, notwith- 
standing his fall, and consequent loss of authority over the 
brute creation. ii Considering the use that is made of the 
elephant in the East Indies," says 3Ir Park in his travels, 
u it may be thought extraordinary that the natives of Africa 
have not, in any part of this immense continent, acquired 
the skill of taming this powerful and docile creature, and 
applying his strength and faculties to the service of man. 
When I told some of the natives that this was actually 
done in the countries of the East, my auditors laughed me 
to scorn; and exclaimed, c Tobaubo fonnio /' — (White 
man's lie.)" 

Chap. viii. ter. 22. — VS Tiiie the earth remaineth, 
seed-time and harvest, aud cold and heat, and sum- 
mer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease. 

A minister going to church one Lord's day morning, 
when the weather was extremely cold and stormy, was over- 
taken by one of his neighbours, who, shivering, said to him, 
u It's very cold, Sir." c ' Oh," replied the minister, u God 
is as good as his word still." The other started at his remark, 
not apprehending his drift, or what he referred to ; and asked 
him what he meant ? " 3Iean," replied he, u why, he pro- 
mised, above three thousand years ago, and still he makes 
his word good, that while the earth remaineth, seed-time 
and harvest, and cold and heat, shall not cease." 

Chap. ix. ver. 2L — Noah drank of the wine, and 
was drunken. 

A person in Maryland, who was addicted to drunkenness, 
hearing a considerable uproar in his kitchen one night, felt 
the curiosity to step without noise to the door, to know 
what was the matter ; when he found his servants indulg- 
ing in the most unbounded roars of laughter at a couple of 
negro boys, who were mimicking himself in his drunken 
fits ! — as how he reeled and staggered — how he looked and 
nodded — and hiccupped and tumbled. The pictures which 
these children of nature drew of him, and which had rilled 
the rest with such inexhaustible merriment, struck him with 
so salutary a disgust, that from that night he became a per- 
fectly sober man, to the great joy of his wife and children. 



GENESIS XII. 9 

Chap. x. ver. 8.— Nimrod began to be a mighty 
one in the earth. 

" What right," asks Rolliu, u had Alexander over the 
great number of nations, which did not know even the name 
of Greece, and had never done him the least injury ? The 
Scythian Ambassador spoke very judiciously, when he ad- 
dressed him in these words : — c What have we to do with 
thee ? We never once set our feet in thy country. Are 
not those who live in woods allowed to be ignorant of thee, 
and the place from whence thou comest ? Thou boastest 
that the only design of thy marching is to extirpate rob- 
bers: thou thyself art the greatest robber in the world.' 
This is Arexander's exact character, in which there is no- 
thing to be rejected. — A pirate spoke to him," adds the 
same historian, " to the same effect, and in stronger terms. 
Alexander asked him, ( What right he had to infest the 
seas ?' i The same that thou hast,' replied the pirate, with 
a generous liberty, i to infest the world ; but because I do 
this in a small ship, I am called a robber ; and because 
thou actest the same part with a great fleet, thou art styled 
a conqueror.' " 

Chap. xi. ver. 4. — Let us build us a city, and a 
tower whose top may reach unto heaven. 

According to Herodotus, the Tower of Babel, which 
was constructed of bricks of bitumen, was a furlong on each 
side at the base ; and Strabo adds, a furlong in height. 
It consisted of eight towers, built one above another, which, 
if proportionally high, would make the elevation exactly one 
mile. The ascent to the top, Rollin informs us, was by 
stairs winding round it on the outside ; that is, there was 
an easy sloping ascent in the side of the outer wall, which 
turning by very slow degrees in a spiral line, eight times 
round the tower, from the bottom to the top, had the same 
appearance as if there had been eight towers placed upon 
one another. In these different stories were many large 
rooms with arched roofs, supported by pillars. Over the 
whole, on the top of the tower, was an observatory, by the 
benefit of which, the Babylonians became more expert in 
astronomy than all other nations. 

Chap. xii. ver. 8. — Abraham pitched his tent, and 



10 GENESIS XIV. 

there lie builded an altar unto the Lord, and called 
on the name of the Lord. 

Mr Howard, the philanthropist, never neglected the duty 
of family prayer, even though there was but one, and that 
one his domestic, to join him in it ; always declaring, that 
where he had a tent, God should have an altar. This was 
the case, not only in England, but in every part of Europe 
which they visited together, it being the invariable practice, 
wherever, and with whomsoever he might be, to tell Tho- 
masson to come to him at a certain hour, at which, well 
knowing what the direction meant, he would be sure to 
find him in his room, the doors of which he would order 
him to fasten ; when, let who would come, nobody was 
admitted till this devotional exercise was over. " Very- 
few, 1 ' says the humble narrator, " knew the goodness of 
this man's heart," 

Chap. xiii. ver. 8. — Abraham said unto Lot, Let 
there he no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, 
and between my herdmen and thy herdmen ; for we 
be brethren. 

, Mr Richards, missionary in India, on his journey to 
Meerut, halted under the shade of a tree, in the outskirts of 
a large village, by the road-side : as he sat there, two of the 
Zemindars of the neighbourhood came up, and, respectfully 
saluting him, entreated him to act as an umpire between 
them, and settle a dispute, in which they had been long in- 
volved, about the boundaries of their respective lands. Mr 
R. declined interfering in the matter ; but intimated his 
readiness to give them information respecting the impor- 
tant concerns of salvation. Having read and explained the 
Scriptures, they listened with attention and delight. The 
disputants embraced each other with apparent cordiality, 
and avowed that they would dispute no more about their 
lands, but love each other, and strive to seek and serve God. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 21. — The King of Sodom said unto 
>/ Abram, Give me the persons, and take the s*oods to 
■K thyself. 

When the Archduke Charles was on his way to Bohe- 
mia, to take the command of the army in Germany, as he 
approached the scene of action, he fell in with a number of 



GENESIS XVI. 11 

wounded, who were abandoned by their companions on the 
road, for want of horses to draw the carriages in their re- .. 
treat. The Prince immediately ordered the horses to be 
unyoked from several pieces of cannon that were retreating, . 
saying, that these brave men were better worth saving than 
a few pieces of cannon. When General Moreau heard of 
the benevolent act, he ordered the cannon to be restored, 
observing, " That he would take no cannon which were 
abandoned from motives so humane.'" 

Chap. xv. ver. 6. — Abraham believed in the Lord ; 
and he counted it to him for righteousness. 

Mr Cooper, late missionary in the East Indies, had been 
on one occasion preaching on Justification, at a military 
station on the Malabar coast ; and on giving out the hymn 
at the end of the service, which was the 109th of the first 
book of Watts, he paused and remarked, that if any one 
who did not come to Christ for the bestowment of this righ- 
teousness, joined in the singing of this hymn, he was only 
insulting God. One of the soldiers who was hearing him 
said, he was as if thunderstruck : a What a wretch must I 
be," said he, " that I am prohibited from joining in the 
praises of God !" He went to the barracks under this im- 
pression, and found that without an interest in Christ he was 
a wretch indeed ; and now, to all human appearance, he has 
fled for refuge to that atonement he had formerly neglected. 

Chap. xvi. ver. 13. — Thou God seest me. 

In a market-town in Buckinghamshire, several Christians 
of different denominations united to support and teach a 
Sabbath school in a neighbouring village. One of the 
teachers, who was accustomed to address the children and 
other attendants, on religious subjects, was one Sabbath 
morning, during winter, very greatly discouraged in the 
prospect of his duties, and entirely unable to fix on a topic 
for his usual address. Walking along in this disconsolate 
state of mind, he found written on the snow, apparently 
with the stick of some passing traveller, that striking pas- 
sage of Holy Scripture,— " Thou God seest me." He re- 
solved on making this the foundation of his remarks, and 
the happy result was the conversion to God of two of his, 
hearers, who became consistent members of a christian 
church. 



12 GENESIS XVIII. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 18. — Abraham said unto God, O 
that Ishmael might live before thee ! 

In the house of a good man lived his daughter and her 
husband, both of thern straugers to real religion, and the 
latter of them immoral. The affectionate exhortations, the 
holy life, and the prayers of the old man, which were of- 
fered every day, in the presence of this son and daughter, 
as often as he could prevail upon them to come to his bed- 
side, produced no effect upon them. A child, who boarded 
with them in the cottage, never failed to attend on these 
occasions : and on the evening of the day in which the old 
man died, this child said to his daughter, " Mother," for so 
he usually called her (though no relation), "we shall have 
no prayer to-night, now grandfather is dead : will not you 
pray ?" " As I can," was the reply. The child, with much 
simplicity and fervour, urged her request. At length, the 
poor woman, overcome by her entreaties, and her mind 
perhaps somewhat softened by the loss she had that day 
sustained, made her first attempt to call on the name of the 
Lord. The result was happy ; for she has been a praying 
person ever since, and consistent in her conduct. Her hus- 
band soon after became " convinced of sin and righteous- 
ness, and of judgment to come ;" and is, there is good rea- 
son to believe, a truly pious man. This case surely affords 
a powerful encouragement to parents to persevere in offering 
up fervent prayer for the conversion of their children, in the 
hope that their petitions may be heard, though they may 
not live to witness the answer of them. 

Chap, xviii. ver. 19. — I know him that he will 
command his children and his household after him, 
and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do jus- 
tice and judgment. 

The following account is given by Milner in his Church 
History, of the family order observed by Eleazer, Count of 
Arian, in the 14th century : — " I cannot," said the Count, 
" allow blasphemy in my house, nor any thing in word or 
deed, which offends the laws of decorum. Dice and all 
games of hazard are to be prohibited. Let all persons in 
my house divert themselves at proper times ; but not in a 
sinful manner. In the morning, reading and prayer must 
be attended to. Let there be constant peace in my family ; 



GENESIS XXI. 13 

otherwise two armies are formed under my roof, and the 
master is devoured by them both. If any difference arise, 
let not the sun go down upon your wrath. We must bear 
with something if we have to live among mankind. Every 
evening, all the family shall be assembled at a godly con- 
ference, in which they shall hear something of God and 
salvation. Let none be absent on pretence of attending to 
my affairs. I have no affairs so interesting to me as the 
salvation of my domestics. I seriously forbid all injustice 
which may cloak itself under colour of serving me." 

Chap. xix. ver. 14. — Up, get you out of this place ; 
for the Lord will destroy this city. But Lot seemed 
as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. 

Some of the unconverted inhabitants of Greenland had 
heard that the world would be destroyed, and as in that case 
they would have no where to go to, they expressed a desire 
to be converted, that they might go with the believers-. 
" But," added they, with that carelessness and procrastina- 
tion so natural to man, in the things that belong to eternity, 
" as the destruction will not happen this year, we will come 
in next season." 

Chap. xx. ver. 6. — Abraham prayed unto God : \f 
and God healed Abimelech. 

Dr Thomas Brown, a physician of considerable celebrity 
in former days, and author of Religio Medici, says, " I 
never hear of a person dying, though in my mirth, without 
my prayers and best wishes for the departing spirit. I can- 
not go to cure the body of my patient, but I forget my pro- 
fession, and call unto God for his soul." 

Chap. xxi. ver. 23. — Now, therefore, swear unto 
me, here, by God, that thou wilt not deal falsely with 
me, nor with my son, nor with my sons son : but 
according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, 
thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou 
hast sojourned. 

When Mr Bruce was at Shekh Ammer, he entreated the 
protection of the governor in prosecuting his journey. Speak- 
ing of the people who were assembled together, at this time, 
in the house, he says, " The great people among them 
came, and after joining hands, repeated a kind of prayer, of 

B 



14 GENESIS XXII. 

about two minutes long, by which they declared themselves 
and their children accursed, if ever they lifted up their 
hands against me in the tell, or field in the desert ; or in 
case that I, or mine, should fly to them for refuge, if they 
did not protect us at the risk of their lives, their families, 
and their fortunes ; or, as they emphatically expressed it, to 
the death of the last male child among them." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 10. — Abraham stretched forth his 
hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 

The following anecdote, and remarks, are found in a note 
to one of President Davies' sermons. " How astonishing 
was the rigid justice of Brutus the Elder, who, in spite of 
all the passions of a father, passed sentence of death upon 
his own sons, for conspiring against the liberty of their 
country I While the amiable youths stood trembling and 
weeping before him, and hoping their fears would be the 
most powerful defence with a father ; while the senate whis- 
per for the moderation of the punishment, and that they 
might escape with banishment ; while his fellow-consul is 
silent ; while the multitude tremble and expect the decision 
with horror; — the inexorable Brutus rises, in all the stern 
majesty of justice, and turning to the lictors, who were the 
executioners, says to them, c To you, lictors, I deliver them.' 
In this sentence he persisted, inexorable, notwithstanding 
the weeping intercession of the multitude, and the cries of 
the young men, calling upon their father by the most en- 
dearing names. The lictors seized them, stripped them 
naked, bound their hands behind them, beat them with rods, 
and then struck off their heads ; the inexorable Brutus look- 
ing on the bloody spectacle with unaltered countenance. 
Thus the father was lost in the judge ; the love of justice 
overcame all the fondness of the parent ; private interest was 
swallowed up in regard for the public good, and the honour 
and security of government. This, perhaps, is the most 
striking resemblance of the justice of Deity that can be 
found in the history of mankind. But how far short does 
it fall ! How trifling were the sufferings of these youths 
compared with those of the Son of God ! They, too, were 
criminals, — he was holy and free from sin. How insignifi- 
cant the law and government for which they suffered, to that 
of the divine ! How small the good of the public in the 
one case to that of the other !" 



+ 



GENESIS XX V. 15 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 7. — Abraham bowed himself to the 
people of the land, even to the children of Heth. 

Sir William Cooels, Governor of Virginia, was conversing 
one day with a merchant in the street, when he saw a negro 
pass by who saluted him. Sir William having returned the 
salutation, the merchant, in surprise, asked him, " How ! 
does your Excellency condescend to bow to a slave ?" " To 
be sure," answered the Governor, " I should be very sorry 
that a slave should show himself more civil than I." 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 63. — Isaac went out to meditate 
(margin, to pray) in the field at the even-tide. 

A pious young man in the army, not finding a convenient 
place in the barracks in which he was quartered, went, one 
night, when dark, into an adjoining field, for the purpose of 
secret devotion. Two men belonging to the same regiment, 
in whose breasts enmity had long subsisted against each 
other, were resolved to end it, as they said, by a battle, 
being prevented from going, during the day, by the fear of 
punishment. They were led by Providence to the same 
part of the field where the young man was engaged in his 
secret exercises. They were surprised at hearing, as they 
thought, a voice in the field at that time of night ; and much 
more so, when they drew nearer and heard a man at prayer. 
They stopped, and gave attention ; and, through the divine 
blessing, the prayer had such an effect on both, as to turn 
their enmity into love, They instantly took each other by 
the hand, and cordially confessed that there existed no 
longer, in their hearts, hatred to each other. 

Chap. xxv. ver. 8. — Then Abraham gave up the 
ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and 
full of years ; and was gathered to his people. 

The late Rev. Mr Innes of GifFord, after a life prolonged 
beyond the days of most men, literally fell asleep ; through 
life a truly peaceful man, his latter end was peculiarly so ; 
without the suffering of disease, or any acute pain, the pins 
of his tabernacle seem to have been gently loosed. Some 
days before, one of his parishioners, a farmer, called, and 
seeing him cheerful, said he was glad to see him so well, 
and that as mild weather was at hand, he would soon get 
better, and be visiting them again. He replied, " No, I 
wish no such flattery ; you see here a poor old man on his 



1 6 GENESIS XXVII. 

death-bed, but without alarm I tell you that ; hear, and tell 
all your neighbours, my parishioners, that my comfort now, 
and hope for eternity, is just the gospel of Christ I have 
preached to them sixty years, and there is no other." He 
was wonderfully composed at all times ; but a week before 
his death, one called, and seeing a book of small type be- 
fore him, asked him if he saw to read without glasses. He 
said, " O, no ; I cannot read even my Bible without glasses ; 
but," strengthening his voice, " I am thankful that I have 
a Bible that I have read, and I can mind some texts that 
I can see and feel now, as I never did before. O, it is a 
precious book !" 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 20. — The herdmen of Gerar did 
strive with Isaac's herdmen. saying, The water is ours. 

3Iajor Rooke, in his travels, relates the following circum- 
stance : — " One morning when we had been driven, by 
stress of weather, into a small bay, called Birk Bay, the 
country around it being inhabited by the Budoos, (Bedo- 
weens,) the noquedah sent his people on shore to get water, 
for which it is always customary to pay : the Budoos were, 
as the people thought, rather too exorbitant in their demands, 
and not choosing to comply with them, returned to make 
their report to their master : on hearing it, rage immediate- 
ly seized him, and, determined to have the water on his 
own terms, or perish in the attempt, he buckled on his 
armour, and, attended by his myrmidons, carrying their 
match-locks, guns, and lances, being twenty in number, they 
rowed to the land. 3Ly Arabian servant, who went on shore 
with the first party, and saw that the Budoos were disposed 
for fighting, told me that I should certainly see a battle. 
After a parley of about a quarter of an hour, with which the 
Budoos amused them till nearly an hundred were assembled, 
they proceeded to the attack, and routed the sailors, who 
made a precipitate retreat, the noquedah and two others 
having fallen in the action, and several having been wounded." 
Hence, we discover the conformity of the ancient and mo- 
dern custom of buying the water, and the serious conse- 
quences that have ensued from the disputes respecting it. 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 45. — Tarry with Laban a few 
days, until thy brother's fury turn away. 

At the Flintshire assizes, in 1821, T. Dutton was found 



GENESIS XXIX. 17 

guilty of wilful murder. At his execution, addressing the 
spectators, supposed to be about ten thousand, he said, 
" Young people, all take warning by me ; it was passion 
that brought me here." 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 12. — He dreamed, and behold, a 
ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to 
heaven. 

The excellent Mr Hervey did not confine his preaching 
to his church alone, but took every opportunity to preach 
Christ. On one occasion, he preached from the preceding 
passage. He considered the ladder as a type of Christ, as 
the way to the Father. After he had done his duly in the 
church, as he was coming down the lane leading from it to 
the parsonage, his hearers, wishing to show their regard to 
him, generally used to stand on each side of the lane to pay 
their respects, by bowing and curtseying to him as he passed. 
As soon as he came to the top of the lane, Mr Hervey lifted 
up his hands, and gave a short lecture as he passed, saying, 
" O, my friends, I beg of God you may not forget this glo- 
rious ladder that Almighty God hath provided for poor sin- 
ners ! — a ladder that will raise us above our corruption unto 
the glorious liberty of the sons of God ! O, my dear friends 
and hearers, I beg you will never forget this glorious ladder ; 
but hope you will daily meditate upon it, till you reach the 
third heaven." 

Chap. xxix. ver. 17. — Leah was tender-eyed ; but 
Rachel was beautiful and well-favoured. 

A gentleman had two children, the one a daughter, who 
was very plain in her person, the other a son, who was very 
beautiful. One day as they were playing together, they 
saw their faces in a looking-glass ; upon which the boy was 
so charmed with his beauty, that he extolled it mightily to 
his sister, who felt these praises as so many reflections on her 
own features. She accordingly acquainted her father with 
the affair, and complained of her brother's rudeness to her. 
Upon this the old gentleman, instead of being angry, took 
the children on his knees, and embracing them both with 
the greatest tenderness, gave them the following advice : " I 
would have you both look at yourselves in the glass every 
day ; you, my son, that you may be reminded never to 
dishonour the beauty of your face by the deformity of your 
B 2 



IS GENESIS XXXI. 

actions ; — and you, my daughter, that you may take care 
to hide the defect of beauty in your person, by the superior 
lustre of a virtuous and amiable conduct." 

Chap. xxx. ver. 14. — Reuben found mandrakes in 
the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. 

The three sons of an eastern lady were invited to furnish 
her with an expression of their love, before she went a long 
journey. One brought a marble tablet, with the inscrip- 
tion of her name ; another presented her with a rich garland 
of fragrant flowers ; the third entered her presence, and thus 
accosted her : " Mother, I have neither marble tablet nor 
fragrant nosegay, but I have a heart : here your name is 
engraved, here your memory is precious, and this heart full 
of affection, will follow you wherever you travel, and remain 
with you wherever you repose." 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 31. — Ye know, that with all my 
power I have served your father. 

Copy of a letter from a master to a young man, on quit- 
ting his service, after a seven years' apprenticeship. 
My dear — ., 

In looking forward to the moment of personally parting 
with thee to-morrow morning, I believe I must forego it. 
I find it almost as much as I could bear to witness the com- 
mencement of the scene, this afternoon, though only a spec- 
tator. Did I feel less for thee, and towards thee, than I 
do, I should not have this difficulty ; but after passing 
seven long years under my roof, and thy conduct and con- 
versation, in every respect, being so thoroughly and com- 
pletely to my satisfaction, and after having been accustomed 
to regard thee almost as one of my own sons, I do confess 
that I feel the separation keenly. If thou wilt not think 
bad of it, 1 believe we must not meet in the morning, but 
I hope to get a glimpse of thee when passing on the carriage. 
And now, my dear friend, in adopting the melancholy word 
— farewell, how earnestly do I covet that thou mayest em- 
phatically fare well in every sense ! and that the great and 
good Master, whom it is thy desire to serve, may be pleased 
more and more to guide thee by his counsel, and, in the 
end, to receive thee into glory. 

Most affectionately thine, 






GENESIS XXXIV. 19 

Chap, xxxii. ver. 24. — Jacob was left alone ; and 
there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of 
the day. 

It was the custom of Mr John Janeway, an eminently 
pious young minister, to set apart a portion of his time, 
daily, for secret retirement and solemn meditation* On one 
of these occasions a friend of his, unknown to him, observed 
all that passed. " O ! what a spectacle did I see I" says 
the relator, u surely, a man walking with God, conversing 
intimately with his Maker, and maintaining a holy familia- 
rity with the great Jehovah. Methought I saw one talk- 
ing with God. O ! what a glorious sight it was ! Methinks 
I see him still ; how sweetly did his face shine ! O, with 
what lovely countenance did he walk up and down, his lips 
going, his body oft reaching up, as if he would have taken 
his flight into heaven ! His looks, and smiles, and every 
motion, spake him to be on the very confines of glory. O ! 
had one but known what he was then feeding on ! Surely, 
he had meat to eat which the world knew not of !" 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 4. — Esau ran to meet him, and 
embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him : 
and they wept. 

On one occasion, when Mr Nott, a missionary, and his 
companions, arrived at the island of Tubuai, the whole of 
its population being engaged in a war, were preparing for 
battle. The missionary and his friends stepped forward as 
mediators, saw the leaders of the contending parties, expos- 
tulated with them, procured an interview between them, and 
reconciled their differences. The contending armies threw 
down their weapons of war, cordially embraced each other, 
went in company to a new building which was devoted to 
the service of God, and sat side by side to hear the gospel 
of peace, which was now published to many of them for the 
iirst time. 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 30. — Jacob said to Simeon and 
Levi, Ye have troubled me, to make me to stink 
among the inhabitants of the land. 

The Spaniards, by their cruelty to the natives of the island 
of Cuba, rendered themselves odious, and excited in the 
minds of the inhabitants the strongest prejudices against 



20 GENESIS XXXVI. 

their religion. A chief, who had been condemned to be 
burnt, when brought to the stake, was exhorted to embrace 
Christianity, assured that thereby he would be admitted to 
heaven. The chief asked if there were any Spaniards in 
heaven. " Yes," said the priest who attended him, "but 
they are all good ones." The chief replied, " I cannot 
bring myself to go to a place where I should meet with but 
one ; therefore, do not speak to me any more of your reli- 
gion, but let me die." 

^| Chap. xxxv. ver. 8. — Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, 
i died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak. 
Extract from a Memoir of Mrs C. Bernard of South- 
ampton. — " Of her conduct as a mistress, I cannot give a 
better proof, than that those servants who were worth keep- 
ing, staid till they were removed by death or marriage. One 
of her female servants lived with her, or waited round her 
person, forty years ; and the almost unparalleled instance 
which follows, perhaps reflects as much honour on the man 
servant as it does on the mistress, or master, (one of her 
sons.) It is briefly expressed in the inscription over his 
grave, which is as follows : — 

In Memory of 

Mr Richard Lawrence, 

Who, after living sixty years in 

The family of the Bernards above Barr, 

Departed this life, 12th Feb. 1795, 

Aged 74 yeaTs. 

His humble demeanour, 

His affectionate faithfulness, 

And persevering diligence in his station, 

Are best attested by the fact 

Related above. 

His surviving master, 

Mr William Bernard, 

Raises this stone as a memorial 

Of so uncommon an instance of 

Private Excellence." 

. Chap, xxx vi. ver. 15. — These were dukes of the 
sons of Esau. 

Duke Hamilton, a pious young nobleman, during his 
last illness, was at one time lying on a sofa, conversing with 



GENESIS XXXVIII. 21 

his tutor on some astronomical subject, and about the nature 
of the fixed stars : " Ah !" said he, " in a very little while 
I shall know more of this than all of you together." When 
his death approached, he called his brother to his bed-side, 
and, addressing him with the greatest affection and serious- 
ness, he concluded by saying : — " And now, Douglas, in a 
little while you will be a Duke, but I shall be a King !" 

Chap, xxxvii. ver. 33. — An evil beast hath devoured 
him : Joseph is, without doubt, rent in pieces. 

The Moravian missionaries, in South Africa, write the 
following account in their diary : — " July 1, 1830. — George 
Yager met with a very serious accident. Passing through 
the wood, he encountered a wounded wild buffalo, which 
immediately attacked him, and gored him in a most terrible 
manner. George was without arms, and could not defend 
himself. The buffalo threw him upon his back, and trod 
upon him, and would have killed him in a short time, had 
not God heard his cry, and helped him in this great distress. 
The manner of his deliverance was singular. A large dog, 
unknown to George, came and attacked the wild beast be- 
hind, and while the buffalo defended himself against the 
dog, George crawled to, and climbed up a tree, where he 
waited till the buffalo was driven off. Then, first, he dis- 
covered how severely he had been wounded ; nor was he 
able to do more than get down and creep into a ditch, where 
he expected to bleed to death, no human help being at hand. 
In the night he suffered much from the cold wind. About 
noon on the second day, a boy providentially strayed into 
that part of the wood, discovered the wounded man, and 
brought tidings of his situation ; upon which some of our 
people, with a small cart, conveyed him home. He was, 
however, so far gone, that we expected he would die under 
the operation of undressing and washing ; but God blessed 
so effectually the means used, that in a few days hopes could 
be entertained of his recovery." 

Chap, xxxviii. ver. 21. —There was no harlot in 
this place. 

The Rev. Dr Waugh was enlarging one evening, at a 
public Sabbath School meeting, on the blessings of educa- 
tion ; and, turning to his native country, Scotland, for proof, 
told his auditors the following anecdote : — " At a board* 



22 GENESIS XL, 

day at the Penitentiary at Millbank, the food of the pru 
soners was discussed, and it was proposed to give Scotch 
broth thrice a-week. Some of the governors were not aware 
what sort of broth the barley made, and desired to taste 
some before they sanctioned the measure. One of the 
officers was accordingly directed to go to the war.ds and 
bring a Scotch woman, competent to the culinary task, to 
perform it in the kitchen. After long delay, the board 
supposing the broth was preparing all the while, the officer 
returned, and told their honours that there teas no Scotch 
woman in the house " 

Chap, xxxix. ver. 21. — The Lord gave Joseph fa- 
vour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 

The respectability of Mr Bunyan's character, and the 
propriety of his conduct, while in prison at Bedford, appear 
to have operated very powerfully on the mind of the jailor, 
who showed him much kindness, in permitting him to go 
out and visit his friends occasionally, and once to take a 
journey to London. It is stated, that some of his persecu- 
tors in London, knowing that he was often out of prison, 
sent an officer to talk with the jailor on the subject ; and, in 
order to discover the fact, he was to get there in the middle 
of the night. Bunyan was at home with his family, but so 
restless that he could not sleep ; he therefore acquainted his 
wife that., though the jailor had given him liberty to stay till 
the morning, yet, from his uneasiness, he must immediately 
return. He did so, and the jailor blamed him for coming 
in at such an unseasonable hour. Early in the morning the 
messenger came, and interrogating the jailor, said, "Are 
all the prisoners safe ?" w Yes." " Is John Bunyan 
safe ?" " Yes." " Let me see him." He was called, 
and appeared, and all was well. After the messenger was 
gone, the jailor, addressing Mr Bunyan, said, u Well, you 
may go in and out again just when you think proper, for 
you know when to return better than I can tell you." 

Chap. xl. ver. 7. — Wherefore look ye so sadly to- 
day ? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a 
dream, and there is no interpreter of it. 

A pious lady having occasion to go to the country on a 
visit to some friends, her road lay through a place where a 
gay acquaintance of hers lived. She called on her ; and, 



GENESIS XL. 23 

perceiving that she did not look well, and seemed a good 
deal flurried, she asked the reason. At first, she made light 
of it, but soon afterwards acknowledged that she was a little 
agitated with a foolish dream she had had the night before, 
which she related as follows : — " In my sleep, I thought 
that I was in my dining-room, with a large party of friends, 
when a most frightful figure appeared at the window, and 
seemed as if he wanted to get in. I asked what it was, 
and being told it was Death, I was exceedingly alarmed, 
and begged they would keep him out ; but in spite of all 
their efforts, he forced his way in, and pointed his dart at 
me. I prayed earnestly that he would go away and not 
hurt me ; on which he said, < That he would leave me for 
the present, but in nine days he would return and take no 
denial.' After this, I thought I was carried to a beautiful 
place, where I saw an immense company of people, who all 
appeared to be exceedingly happy. I understood it was 
heaven, and felt greatly disappointed and astonished that I 
did not find myself happy. I was not able to join in their 
employments, nor could I understand the cause of their joy. 
While I was musing on all this, one came to me, whom I 
supposed to be an angel. I asked him if this was heaven ? 
He answered, 6 Yes.' c How does it happen then,' said I, 
'that I am not happy ?' c Because,' he replied, < it is not 
your place.' He then asked how I came there ? I told 
him I did not know. On saying this, he conducted me to 
a door, which opening, I was instantly precipitated towards 
a most dreadful place, from which issued such doleful groans 
and piercing shrieks, as awoke me from my sleep." Having 1 
given this account of her dream, her visitor spoke to her 
very seriously, and advised her to consider it as a warning 
from God to attend to her best interests, and to prepare for 
death and eternity. Perhaps she would really die at the 
time when Death said he would return, and how sad would 
it be if she slighted the admonition, and was found unpre* 
pared ! This conversation was not relished ; and to put an 
end to it, the poor thoughtless lady rang her bell, and de- 
sired the servant to bring her some millinery articles, that 
had been sent home the day before, to shew them to her 
friend, who, perceiving her design, very soon left her, and 
proceeded on her journey. In a fortnight she returned the 
same way, and as she entered the place where her gay ac- 
quaintance resided, she met a splendid funeral, which she 



24 GENESIS XLII. 

was told was her friend's, who had died on the very day 
mentioned in her dream. 

Chap. xli. ver. 42, 43. — Pharaoh took off his ring 
from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and 
arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold 
chain about his neck : And he made him to ride in 
the second chariot which he had. 

When the great Duke cf Cumberland commanded in 
Germany, he was particularly pleased with the ability and 
valour of a sergeant belonging to his own regiment. H aving 
observed the gallantry of this man, and made several en- 
quiries into his private character, his Royal Highness took 
occasion, after a great exploit which the sergeant had per- 
formed, to give him a commission. Some time afterwards 
he came to the Duke, and entreated his leave to resign the 
rank which he held. Surprised at so extraordinary a re- 
quest, the Duke demanded the reason, and was told by the 
applicant that he was now separated from his old compa- 
nions by his elevation, and not admitted into the company 
of his brother officers, who considered themselves degraded 
by his appointment. " Oh ! is that the case ?" said the 
Duke, " let the matter rest for a day or two, and I will 
soon find means of putting an end to your disquietude." 
The next morning His Royal Highness went on the parade, 
when he was received by a circle of officers, and while he 
was engaged in conversation, he perceived his old friend 
walking, at a distance, by himself. On this the Duke said, 
" Pray, gentlemen, what has that officer done that he should 
be drummed out of your councils ?" and without waiting 
for an answer, he went up, took the man by the arm, and 
thus accompanied, went through all the lines. When the 
parade was over, Lord Ligonier respectfully desired His 
Royal Highness to honour the mess with his presence that 
day : — " With all my heart," replied the Duke, " pro- 
vided I bring my friend, here, with me." " I hope so," 
said his Lordship ; and from that day the gentleman's 
company was rather courted than shunned by the highest 
officer in the service. 

Chap. xlii. ver. 4. — Benjamin, Joseph's brother, 
Jacob sent not with his brethren : for he said, Lest 
peradventure mischief befall him. 



GENESIS XLIV. 25 

Mr Samuel Fairclough, when at College, became tutor 
to the Earl of Northampton's sons. When his pupil was 
going on his travels, the Earl made handsome proposals to 
Mr Fairclough to accompany him. But consulting his 
mother on the subject, she, who had lost several sons already, 
was unwilling to part with him, as Jacob with Benjamin. 
Upon which, falling on his knees, he said, " Dear mother, 
though my inclination is strong to travel with such company, 
since I know your pleasure, I feel, already, far greater satis- 
faction in denying my own will for yours, than I can in any 
way find in the journey." 

Chap, xliii. ver. '29. — He lifted up his eyes, and 
saw his brother Benjamin, his mother s son, and said. 
Is this your younger brother of whom ye spake unto me ? 

As one of the water-bearers at the fountain of the Faux- 
bourg St Germain, in Paris, was at his usual labours, in 
1766, he was taken away by a gentleman in a splendid car- 
riage, who proved to be his own brother, and who, at the 
age of three years, had been carried to India, where he ac- 
quired considerable wealth. On his return to France, he 
had made inquiry respecting his family ; and hearing that 
he had only one brother alive, and that he was in the hum- 
ble condition of a water-bearer, he sought him out, em- 
braced him with great affection, and brought him to his 
house, where he gave him bills for upwards of a thousand 
crowns per annum. 

Chap. xliv. ver. 33. — I pray thee, let thy servant 
abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord ; and 
let the lad go up with his brethren. 

Paulinus, a native of Bordeaux, and bishop of Nola, was 
a man of great benevolence. Under the Vandalic per- 
secution, many Christians were carried slaves out of Italy 
into Africa, for whose redemption Paulinus expended his 
whole estate. At last a widow came to him, and entreated 
him to give her as much as would ransom her son : he told 
her he had not one penny left ; nothing but his own person, 
which he would freely give to procure her son's ransom. 
This the woman looked upon as deriding her calamity, and 
not pitying her case ; but he assured her he was in earnest ; 
and both took shipping for Africa. On their arrival, Pau- 
jbnus addressed himself to the prince, begged the release of 



25 GENESIS XL VII. 

the widow's son, and offered himself in his room. Pauli- 
nus, it is said, then became the prince's slave, who employed 
him in keeping his garden. His master having discovered 
who he was, set him at liberty, and gave him leave to ask 
what he would. He begged the release of all his country- 
men then in bondage ; which was granted, and all were joy- 
fully sent home. 

Chap. xlv. ver. 5. — God did send nie before you to 
preserve life. 

During the 17th century, while the Rev. John Cotton 
was minister of Boston, intelligence reached that town of 
the distress of the poor Christians at Sigatea, where a small 
church existed, the members of which were reduced to great 
extremity of sufferings by persecution. Mr Cotton imme- 
diately began to collect for them, and sent the sum of 
£ 700 for their relief. It is remarkable, that this relief ar- 
rived the very day after they had divided their last portion 
of meal, without any prospect than that of dying a linger- 
ing death, and immediately after their pastor, 3Ir White, 
had preached to them from Psalm xxiii. 1. i( The Lord 
is my Shepherd ; I shall not want." 

Chap. xlvi. ver. 29. — Joseph made ready his chariot, 
and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and 
presented himself imto him ; and he fell on his neck, 
and wept on his neck a good while. 

Ali Bey, Sheik Belief, or chief Bey of Egypt, ordered a 
person, whom he had occasion to send to Constantinople, to 
transact some business for him in that city, when there to 
find out his father, and bring him back with him into 
Egypt. His agent was successful, and brought him over ; 
and when Daout (or David), which was the name of that 
Greek priest, who was Ali's father, approached Cairo, the 
capital of Egypt, where the Sheik resided, Ali went out of 
the city with a numerous retinue to meet his father, and as 
soon as he saw him, he fell on his knees, and kissed his 
father's hand. Proceeding afterwards to his palace, Daout's 
feet having been washed by the domestics, he was led into 
the Harem, and presented to the Princess Mary (Ali's 
principal wife) and her child. 

w Chap, xlvii. ver. GO. — I will lie with my fathers, 



GENESIS XLVIII. 27 

and thou shalt carry nie out of Egypt, and bury me 
in their burying-place. 

At the time when his Majesty George the Third, desirous 
that himself and family should repose in a less public se- 
pulchre than that of Westminster Abbey, had ordered a 
royal tomb to be constructed at Windsor, Mr Wyatt, his 
architect, waited upon him, with a detailed report and plan 
of the building, and of the manner in which he proposed 
to arrange its various recesses. The King minutely exa- 
mined the whole, and when finished, Mr Wyatt, in thank- 
ing his Majesty, said, " he had ventured to occupy so much 
of his Majesty's time and attention with these details, in 
order that it might not be necessary to bring so painful a 
subject again under his notice." To this the good King 
replied, fc < Mr Wyatt, I request that you will bring the 
subject before me whenever you please. I shall attend with 
as much pleasure to the building of a tomb to receive me 
when I am dead, as I would to the decoration of a drawing- 
room to hold me while living ; for, Mr Wyatt, if it please 
God that I shall live to be ninety, or an hundred years old, 
I am willing to stay ; but if it please God to take me this 
night, I am ready to obey the summons." 

Chap, xlviii. ver. 3. — Jacob said unto Joseph, God 
Almighty appeared unto me at Luz, in the land of 
Canaan, and blessed me. 

The following remarkable passage was found written by 
Mr John Howe with his own hand, in Latin, on a blank 

leaf of his Bible :— " Dec. 26, 1689 After that I had 

long, seriously, and repeatedly thought within myself, that, 
besides a full and undoubted assent to the objects of faith, 
a vivifying savoury taste and relish of them was also neces- 
sary, that, with stronger force, and more powerful energy, 
they might penetrate into the most inward centre of my 
heart, and there, being most deeply fixed and rooted, govern 
my life ; and that there could be no other sure ground 
whereon to conclude and pass a sound judgment on my 
good estate God-ward ; and after I had, in my course of 
preaching, been largely insisting on 2 Cor. i. 12, this very 
morning I awoke out of a most ravishing and delightful 
dream, that a wonderful and copious stream of celestial 
rays, from the lofty throne of the Divine Majesty, seemed 



28 GENESIS L» 

to dart into my expanded breast. — I have often since, with 
great complacency, reflected on 'that very signal pledge of 
special divine favour, vouchsafed to me on that noted me- 
morable day, and have, with repeated fresh pleasure, tasted 
the delights thereof." 

Chap. xlix. ver. 18. — I have waited for thy salva- 
tion, O Lord ! 

An aged Christian negro, who died a few years ago, was 
often visited by some pious friends. On one occasion she 
told them, if it was the will of " Jesus Massa" to call her 
to-morrow, she should be satisfied to go ; if it was his will 
to spare her some time longer, she should be satisfied to 
stay. She repeated, that she was waiting for her summons 
from above ; said God spared her a little, and she thanked 
him for it. By and by, when he saw his time he would 

come, and then she would thank him for that The next 

evening she appeared faint and low, and said she was in 
pain from head to foot : <c Jesus Massa" had sent the pain, 
and she thanked him for it. Some day, when he saw good, 
he would come and take it away." After lingering for some 
time, still in pain, but prayer and praise ever flowing from 
her lips, she drew near her end. When in her greatest 
extremities, she said her Saviour would give her ease when 
he saw fit ; and if he did not give it to her now, he would 
give it to her yonder, pointing upwards. 

Chap. 1. ver. 21. — Fear ye not ; I will nourish you, 
and your little ones. And he comforted them, and 
spake kindly unto them. 

The father of that eminent lawyer, Mr Sergeant Glan- 
vill, had a good estate, which he intended to settle on his 
eldest son ; but he proving a vicious young man, and there 
being no hopes of his recovery, he devolved it upon the 
sergeant, who was his second son. Upon the father's death, 
his eldest son, finding that what he had considered before 
as the mere threatenings of an angry old man, were now but 
too certain, became melancholy; which, by degrees, wrought 
in him so great a change, that what his father could not 
prevail in while he lived, was now effected by the severity 
of his last will. His brother, observing this, invited him, 
together with many of his friends, to a feast ; where, after 



EXODUS II. 29 

other dishes had been served up, he ordered one which was 
covered to be set before his brother, and desired him to 
uncover it : upon his doing which, the company, no less 
than himself, were surprised to find it full of writings ; and 
still more when the sergeant told them " that he was now 
doing what he was sure his father would have done, had he 
lived to see the happy change which now they all saw in 
his brother ; and therefore he freely restored to him the 
whole estate." 



EXODUS. 



p Chap. i. ver. 17. — They feared God, and did not as 
^f the King of Egypt commanded them. 

When Alexander the Great was rebuilding the temple of 
Belus, he ordered the Jewish soldiers who were in his army 
to work as the rest had done ; but they could not be pre- 
vailed on to give their assistance, excusing themselves by 
observing, that as idolatry was forbidden by the tenets of 
their religion, they were not allowed to assist in the build- 
ing of a temple designed for idolatrous worship ; and accord- 
ingly not one lent a hand on this occasion. They were 
punished for disobedience, but all to no purpose ; so that, at 
last, -Alexander, admiring the firmness of their resolution, 
discharged, and sent them home. 

Chap. ii. ver. 23. — The children of Israel sighed by 
reason of bondage. 
I It is stated that at least fifty thousand poor creatures are 
carried away from Africa every year to be made slaves ! 
And their sufferings in the ships, as they cross the sea, as 
well as on their coming to the place of slavery, are beyond 
belief. In one instance, a black having been seized and 
carried off to the coast to be put on board a ship, his mother 
hastened to offer a sum of money for his freedom. The 
white man took the money ; but — horrid to relate — -seized 
the mother, and two days after, shipped both mother and 
son for America. The son, indignant at the outrage, stab- 
bed himself, saying, " Thou white man, devourer of black?, 
I cannot revenge myself on thee but by depriving thee of 
my person IV While the rash and forbidden act of this 
c2 



SO EXODUS V. 

unhappy slave is by no means to be approved, it paints in 
the blackest colours the treachery, injustice, and cruelty of 
the wretch that drove him to this awful extremity. 

Chap. in. ver. 11. — Who am I, that I should go 
unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the ch3- 
dren of Israel out of Egypt ? 

Mr Newton, speaking of his situation, after having been 
settled in London, says, " That one of the most ignorant, 
the most miserable, and the most abandoned of slaves, 
should be plucked from his forlorn state of exile on the coast 
of Africa, and at length be appointed minister of the parish 
of the first magistrate of the first city in the world — that he 
should then not only testify of such grace, but stand up as 
a singular instance and monument of it — that he should be 
enabled to record it in his history, preaching, and writings, 
to the world at large, is a fact I can contemplate with ad- 
miration, but never sufficiently estimate." This reflection, 
indeed, was so present to his mind on all occasions, and in 
all places, that he seldom passed a single day anywhere, 
but he was found referring to the strange event in one way 
or other. 

Chap. iv. ver. 11. — Who maketh the deaf? 

" I have in my congregation," said a venerable minister 
of the gospel, " a worthy aged woman, who has for many 
years been so deaf, as not to distinguish the loudest sound, 
and yet she is always one of the first in the meeting. On 
asking the reason of her constant attendance, as it was im- 
possible for her to hear my voice, she answered, ' Though I 
cannot hear you, I come to God's house because I love it, 
and would be found in his ways ; and he gives me many a 
sweet thought upon the text, when it is pointed out to me : 
another reason is, because there I am in the best company, 
in the more immediate presence of God, and amongst his 
saints, the honourable of the earth. I am net satisfied with 
serving God in private : it is my duty and privilege to 
honour him regularly and constantly in public.' " 

Chap. v. ver. 1, 2. — Moses and Aaron went in, 
and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 
Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto 
me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is 



EXODUS VI. SI 

the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? 
I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. 

The American missionaries having been admitted to an 
interview with the Emperor of Burmah, presented a peti- 
tion, requesting permission to preach the gospel in his do- 
minions. After the Emperor had perused it, he handed it 
back without saying a word, and took a tract, which was 
also presented to him. a Our hearts," say the missionaries, 
u now rose to God for a display of his grace. ' O, have 
mercy on Burmah ! Have mercy on her king !' But, alas ! 
the time was not yet come. He held the tract long enough 
to read the first two sentences, which assert that there is one 
eternal God, who is independent of the incidents of morta-« 
lity ; and that, besides him, there is no God ; and then, 
with an air of indifference, perhaps disdain, he dashed it 
down to the ground ! Moung Zah (one of his ministers) 
stooped forward, picked it up, and handed it to us. Moung 
Yo made a slight attempt to save us, by unfolding one of 
the volumes which composed our present, and displayed its 
beauty ; but his Majesty took no notice. Our fate was de- 
cided. After a few moments, Moung Zah interpreted his 
royal master's will in the following terms : — < In regard to 
the objects of your petition, his Majesty gives no order ; in 
regard to your sacred books, his Majesty has no use for 
them : take them away.' " 

Chap. vi. ver. 30. — Moses said before the Lord, 
Behold I am of uncireumeised lips, and how shall 
Pharaoh hearken nnto me ? 

" One Lord's day," a minister writes in his diary, " ray 
mind was borne down by a sense of my unprepaTedness for 
the work of the day ; my fears rose so high, as greatly to 
affect my body. This fear, as to its nature, was an appre- 
hension of being left to barrenness in the work of the day. 
Its cause was viewing the greatness of the work, and the 
weakness of my own abilities, without looking to God. Its 
cure, I thought, must be a view of the Lord's ability to help 
me, and a reliance on him for aid. I went to meeting in 
the depth of fear, but the Lord did not leave me in it after 
his service began ; for both in prayer and preaching I en- 
joyed unusual liberty. After this my proud heart was too 



32 EXODUS VIII. 

much elated ; and the Lord very justly left me to great 
contractedness in the afternoon." 

Cliap. vii. ver. 11. — Then Pharaoh also called the 
wise men and the sorcerers : now the magicians of 
Egypt, they also did in like manner with their en- 
chantments. 

The missionaries at Poonah, in the East Indies, speaking 
of the heathen superstitions, and more particularly describ- 
ing one that has lately arisen, say — u Narayun Bhas was 
the son of a labourer, in a small village equidistant from 
Wall and Satiara. He had been taught, when nine years 
of age, the art of catching serpents. This wonderful faculty 
possessed by so young a boy, was given out as proving his 
origin to be divine. This was soon noised abroad through- 
out the whole country, and vast numbers flocked from all 
quarters to see this new divinity. It was given out that he 
could cleanse lepers, give sight to the blind, &c. As soon 
as ever we mentioned the miracles of Christ, those of Na- 
rayun Bhas were appealed to by the deluders and the de- 
luded. Several lepers were seated by his directions at the 
side of a rivulet, waiting for a miraculous cure. Things 
went on in this way for four or five months : at last, some 
one, to try him, brought a very venomous serpent for him to 
catch. On this occasion his usual tact was wanting ; the 
serpent bit him, and in a few minutes after, the boy died. 
The eyes of some people seemed to be open to the impos- 
ture ; others expect that he is immediately to appear again 
in the family of a Brahmin near this, if he has not already 
appeared." 

Chap. viii. ver. 19. — This is the finger of God. 

" 1 have been thrown from my pony," said a little boy 
to his father ; a but, by chance, I am not hurt." " I am 
glad to hear of your safe escape, my dear child ; but you 
ought to ascribe it to Providence. Chance is blind, and 
cannot protect us : Providence watches over us all. Look 
round on nature — on those things most obvious to your 
senses, the plants, trees, animals, and yourself ; lift your 
eyes to heaven — see the beautiful regularity of the planetary 
orbs, the return of day and night, and the revolution of sea- 
sons ; then reflect, can these things be the effect of chance ? 
No ; a Supreme Power rules and directs the order of the 






EXODUS xr. S3 

universe, and holds the chain of events. Learn to acknow- 
ledge this great and good Being in every thing that befals 
you. Look up to his superintending Providence for every 
blessing you would wish to receive, and every danger you 
are anxious to avoid, and scorn to be indebted to chance for 
what you really owe to your Father and your God." 

Chap. ix. ver. 16. — In very deed for this cause 
(^ have I raised thee up, for to shew hi thee my power ; 
and that my name may be declared throughout all the 
earth. 

" When God is about to perform any great work," says 
Mr Newton, " he generally permits some great opposition 
to it. Suppose Pharaoh had acquiesced in the departure 
of the children of Israel, or that they had met with no dif- 
ficulties in the way, they would indeed have passed from 
Egypt to Canaan with ease ; but they, as well as the Church 
in all future ages, would have been great losers. The 
wonder-working God would not have been seen in those ex- 
tremities which make his arm so visible. A smooth pas- 
sage, here, would have made but a poor story." 

Chap, x, ver. 20. — The Lord hardened Pharaoh's 
heart. 

!n a conversation with the Vice-Patriarch at the Greek 
Convent at Cairo, and his secretary, Mr Jowett intimated 
diat it would be desirable that the Greeks in Cairo should 
possess the Holy Scriptures. " These artisans," observed 
the secretary, " how can they understand the Scriptures, 
unless we explain them ? How would a common man un- 
derstand that passage, ' The Lord hardened Pharaoh's 
heart?' Would he not be led to think that God was the 
author of Pharaoh's sin ?" " On this show of controversy, 
I retired," says Mr J., u for a few moments into my own 
thoughts ; and, having paused in that way, which the long 
pipe with which I was furnished gave an opportunity of 
doing, I turned to the secretary, and asked how he would 
explain that passage, which was certainly a difficult one." 
He replied, " God permitted Pharaoh to remain in his har- 
dened state of nature." " Very well," I said, (i the ex- 
planation which satisfies you, would most probably satisfy 
every common reader of the Bible, as it does me." 

Chap. xi. ver, 7. — But against any of the children 






Bh EXODUS XII* 

of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against matt 
or beast ; that ye may know how that the Lord doth 
put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. 

Although it is true, that, in the general course of Divine 
Providence, u no man knoweth either love or hatred by all 
that is before them," and tbat " all things come alike to all," 
and " there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked," 
yet there are many instances in which we may " discern be- 
tween the righteous and the wicked ; between him that 
serveth God, and him that serveth him not," and are called 
to acknowledge, " Verily there is a reward for the righteous : 
verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth*" — About the 
time when the gospel was beginning to make its way in 
Raiatea, one of the South Sea Islands, a canoe, with four 
men in it, was upset at sea, and the people were thrown into 
the water. Two of the men having embraced Christianity, 
immediately cried, u Let us pray to Jehovah ; for He can 
save us." — u Why did you not pray to him sooner ?" replied 
their Pagan comrades ; u here we are in the water, and it 
is useless to pray now." The Christians, however, did cry 
mightily unto their God, while all four were clinging for 
life to the broken canoe. In this situation, a shark sud» 
denly rushed towards them, and seized one of the two idola- 
t >rs. His companions held him as fast and as long as they 
could ; but the monster prevailed in the tug between them, 
an;! hurried the unfortunate victim into the abyss, marking 
the track with his blood. After some time the tide bore 
the surviving three to the reef, when, just as they were cast 
upon it, a second shark snatched the other idolator with his 
jaws, and carried off his prey, shrieking in vain for assist- 
ance, which the two Christians, themselves struggling with 
the breakers, could not afford him. This circumstance 
made a great impression on the minds of their countrymen, 
and powerfully recommended to them the " God that heareth 
prayer." 

Chap. xii. ver. 26, 27. — When your children shall 
say unto you, What mean ye by this service ? Ye 
shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover. 

The mother of Dr Samuel Johnson was a woman of great 
good sense and piety ; and she was the means of early im- 
pressing religious principles on the mind of her son. He 



EXODUS XV, S5 

used to say, that he distinctly remembered having had the 
first notice of heaven, " a place to which good people go," 
and hell, "a place to which bad people go," communicated 
to him by her, when a little child in bed with her ; and that 
it might be the better fixed in his memory, she sent him to 
repeat it to her man servant. He being out of the way, 
this was not done ; but there was no occasion for any artifi- 
cial aid for its preservation. When the Doctor related this 
circumstance, he added, " that children should be always 
encouraged to tell what they hear, that is particularly strik- 
ing, to some brother, sister, or servant, immediately, before 
the impression is erased by the intervention of newer occur- 
rences," 

Chap. xiii. ver. 19. — Moses took the bones of Joseph. 
with him. 

Wickliffe, the first English reformer, was seized with 
palsy, while engaged in public worship in his church at 
Lutterworth, which, in three days, put a period to his life. 
His body was interred in the chancel of the church ; but the 
resentment of his enemies did not terminate with his life. 
Having first ordered his works to be burnt, his bones, by a 
decree of the Council of Constance, were commanded to be 
dug up and committed to the flames ; which disgraceful 
mandate was carried into effect thirteen years afterwards. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 13. — Moses said unto the people, 
Fear ye not ; stand still, and see the salvation of the 
Lord. 

The Rev. Mr Monteith, late of Alnwick, on his way 
from London, called on the Rev. James Hervey. Being 
asked by him, What news in the city ? He replied, 
" Every thing is preparing for war ;" upon which Mr Her- 
vey said, with much sweetness and composure, " Well, God 
will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on 
him, because he trusteth in him." 

Chap. xv. ver. 10. — Thou didst blow with thy 
wind, the sea covered them. 

When the Spaniards, on the defeat of their Invincible 
Armada, stung with disappointment, and wishing to detract 
from the honour which our brave defenders had acquired, 
exclaimed, that the English had little reason to boast ; for if 



30 EXODUS XVII. 

the elements had not fought against them, they would cer- 
tainly have conquered us ; the enlarged and vivid mind of 
Queen Elizabeth improved the hint. She commanded a 
medal to be struck, representing the Armada scattered and 
sinking in the back ground ; and in the front, the British 
fleet riding triumphant, with the preceding passage as a 
motto round the medal : — u Thou didst blow with thy wind, 
and the sea covered them." It becomes us to say in refer- 
ence to this, as well as many other national deliverances, 
" Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to 
their teeth." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 23. — To-morrow is the rest of the 
holy Sabbath unto the Lord : bake that which ye will 
bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe ; and that 
which remaineth over lay up for you, to be kept until 
the morning. 

u While at tea this evening," says Mr Stewart, mission- 
ary at the Sandwich Islands, " we heard a herald passing 
through the district — the manner in which all the general 
orders of the king and chiefs are communicated to their vas- 
sals — making a proclamation to the people- On inquiring 
of the native boys in our yard, we learned that the object of 
it was to inform the people, that the next day but one would 
be the Sabbath, and to command them to have all their food 
prepared on the morrow, and not to break the commandment 
of God, by working on the ' la tabaiC — sacred day. Heralds 
have very frequently been out on a Saturday evening, to 
give intelligence of the approach of the Sabbath, and to 
command its observance ; but this is the first time we have 
heard it notified so seasonably, as to take all excuse from 
those who disregard it." 

Chap. xvii. ver. 2. — Wherefore do ye tempt the 
Lord ? 

A farmer named Higgins, an inhabitant of Baltons- 
borough, in Somersetshire, died about the end of 1831. 
From the time of his marriage in 1793, he became extremely 
anxious to have a son ; but his wife presenting him with 
three daughters in succession, he became very disconsolate, 
and even enraged at his repeated disappointment ; and 
vowed, with an oath of imprecation, that should his next 
child be a daughter, he would never speak to her. Before 



exodus xvin. 37 

the birth of his fourth child, he impiously repeated the 
same solemn vow : the child, however, to his inexpressible 
joy, proved to be a boy ; but the father's satisfaction was of 
short continuance, for the child, as soon as it began to take 
notice of surrounding objects, was observed to avoid him, 
and never could be induced, even for a moment, to remain 
in his arms. As the boy advanced in years, and the time 
of articulation arrived, his shyness towards his father became 
more and more apparent ; and it was soon observed, that 
whilst he conversed freely with his mother and sisters, he 
never addressed a word to his father, or uttered a syllable 
in his presence. His shyness was at first thought to be ac- 
cidental, as his father was much from home ; but when the 
boy had gained the full powers of speech, and still observed 
a constant and marked silence towards him, it became but 
too evident that Higgins was destined never to hold any 
conversation with his son. The afflicted parent often en- 
treated him to speak to him and converse with him, but 
neither entreaties, threats, nor promises, were of the least 
avail ; he even promised him the half of what he possessed, 
if he would converse, or even speak to him, but it was all 
to no purpose. The mother also often desired him to oblige 
his father by talking to him ; but his reply was, a No, 
mother, do you not think I would talk to father if I could ? 
"Whenever father approaches me, my voice begins to falter ; 
and before he comes within hearing, the power of speaking 
entirely fails me." It is remarkable, that the inability of 
speaking applied to all other males, as well as the father, 
and continued so for thirty -five years, up to the period of 
his father's death. Immediately after this occurrence, he 
began to converse with all around, males as well as females, 
and he still continues to enjoy the full powers of speech. 
How sinful and dangerous to cherish or express dissatisfac- 
tion with the arrangements of the all-wise Providence of 
God ! Woe to him that striveth with his Maker. 

Chap, xviii. ver. 21, 22. — Thou shalt provide out of 
the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, 
hating covetousness, — and let them judge the people 
at all seasons. 

Sir Matthew Hale, in one of his circuits, had a buck sent 
for his table, by a gentleman who had a trial at the assizes. 
When Sir Matthew heard the gentleman's name, he asked> 



38 EXODUS XIX. 

<c If he was not the same person that had sent him venison ? ,? 
And finding he was the same, he told him he could not 
suffer the trial to go on till he had paid him for his buck. 
The gentleman observed, that he never sold his venison, and 
that he did nothing to him which he did not do to every 
judge who had gone that circuit : the truth of which was 
confirmed by several gentlemen then present. The Lord 
Chief Baron, however, would not proceed with the trial 
till he had paid for the present, upon which the gentleman 
withdrew the record. At Salisbury, too, the Dean and 
Chapter having, according to custom, presented him with 
six sugar loaves in his circuit, he made his servants pay for 
he sugar before he would try their cause. 

Chap. xix. ver. 16. — There were thunders and light- 
nings, and a thick clond upon the mount, and the 
voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ; so that all the 
people that was in the camp trembled. 

Mr Richard Morris, pastor of a Baptist Church in Eng- 
land, when a young man, attended, as a spectator, a funeral 
which he had followed into St Mary's Church, at Stamford. 
His mind being peculiarly solemnized and softened by the 
scene, the blast of six trumpets sounded together, to set the 
evening watch, and reverberated through the dome, striking 
the whole audience with awe. It was a natural association 
of ideas, which, at such a moment, called up with peculiar 
vividness the thought that he must certainly hear the tre- 
mendous sound of the trump of God. With this impression 
fresh upon his mind, Mr Morris retired to his room, and 
endeavoured to lift up his heart to that God who he knew 
must be his Judge. His prayer was heard, and although 
he was at this time, as he confessed, totally unacquainted 
with the nature of salvation by Jesus Christ, as revealed in 
the Gospel, as well as with the agency of the Holy Spirit, 
as necessary to bring the soul to a personal acquaintance with 
it, yet he was enabled to break off, from this time, his for- 
mer habits, and to enter, though with very obscure notions, 
upon a religious life. This trifling occurrence acting with 
peculiar force upon his imagination, seems to have been the 
means of permanently arresting his attention, and of giving 
rise to those workings of conscience which issued in his 
conversion. 



EXODUS XX. 39 

Chap. xx. ver. 7. — Thou shalt not take the name of 
the Lord thy God in vain : for the Lord will not hold 
him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 

The Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, when crossing the Forth 
from Leith to Kinghorn, had the unhappiness to find him- 
self in the midst of ungodly passsengers, who took the most 
unhallowed liberties with their Creator's name. For a 
time he was silent, but at last, unable to suppress his con- 
cern, and solicitous to curb their blaspheming tongues, he 
rose from his seat, and taking hold of the mast, uncovered 
his head, waved his hat, and cried aloud, " O yes ! 
O yes I O yes !" Having thus secured the attention of the 
astonished passengers and crew, he proceeded, in a solemn 
and impressive manner, to proclaim that commandment of 
the moral law which they were flagrantly violating : " Thou 
shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for 
the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name 
in vain." Without adding a single word, he quitted the 
mast, covered his head, and resumed his seat. The giddy 
company, however, resolved to harden themselves against 
the striking reproof. They began first to elbow each other, 
then to titter, and at last, to be avenged on their kind re- 
prover, they burst into a fit of loud laughter. Their con- 
versation soon became as profane and offensive as before* 
Among the rest, a lady, laying aside the delicacy of the 
sex, and regardless alike of the authority of God, and the 
maxims of politeness, seemed to find a malicious pleasure 
in giving emphasis to almost every sentence, by intermixing 
the sacred name, accompanied with smiles of derision and 
contempt, obviously intended to mortify the venerable man. 
It pleased God, however, to second the despised warning 
of his servant, by an alarming admonition of his provi- 
dence. When they had got to the north of Inchkeith, a 
tempest suddenly arose ; the heavens became black with 
clouds — the sea raged — the danger was imminent — the 
pilot, unable to keep hold of the helm, assured them that 
their fate was inevitable. This unexpected alteration of 
circumstances produced at least a temporary change on 
their spirit and appearance. Their sportive gaiety gave place 
to consternation and despair. The same lady who had 
acted so insolent a part towards the faithful clergyman, 
overwhelmed with dismay, now sprang across the boat, and 



40 EXODUS XXII. 

clasped her arms around his neck, exclaiming, u O Sir, if 
I die here, I will die with you." Through the Divine pa- 
tience and forbearance, how r ever, they weathered the storm, 
and reached the harbour in safety. 

Chap. xxi. ver. o. — I love my master; I will not 
go out free. 

A gentleman in Virginia had in his service a negro 
youth, about fourteen years of age, named Scipio. The 
gentleman had a son about the same age, to whom Scipio 
was greatly attached. This youth was taken ill, and was 
constantly attended by his anxious parents, who relieved each 
other at proper intervals. One evening, however, being 
greatly exhausted, they both retired to rest, leaving the pa- 
tient to the care of a friend who had volunteered her ser- 
vices on the occasion. About two o'clock in the morning, 
he became very restless, and called for something to drink. 
The nurse fell asleep, but Scipio had calculated upon such 
an event, and had concealed himself under the bed. On 
hearing his young master's voice, he put out his head, say- 
ing, " ^Jassa George, wat you want ? me come arectly." 
He arose immediately, but not knowing the contents of 
three or four bottles which were on the table, he went and 
called his mistress, to whom he related his adventure. After 
Supplying the wants of her son, she commended the conduct 
of Scipio, and desired him to go to bed. But the faithful 
and affectionate youth could not be prevailed on to leave the 
room, but said, " Poor massa very tired, poor missey very 
tired, missey go bed ; Scipio no tired, Scipio no sit up last 
night ; no go bed now." Soon afterwards the youth re- 
covered, and his father, in reward of Scipio's fidelity, offer- 
ed him his freedom ; but such was his regard for his young 
master, that he declined the favour, and remained in the 
family, beloved and respected by all who knew him. 

Chap. xxii. ver. 4. — If a man shall cause a field or 
vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and 
shall feed in another man's field ; of the best of his 
own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall 
he make restitution. 

In the last war in Germany, a captain of cavalry was out 
on a foraging party. On perceiving a cottage in the midst 
of a solitary valley, he went up and knocked at the door. 



EXODUS XXIII. 41 

Out came a Hemouten (better known by the name of United 
Brethren) with a beard silvered by age. " Father," says 
the officer, " show me a field where J can set my troopers a- 
foraging." " Presently," replied the Hemouten. The 
good old man walked before, and conducted them out of the 
valley. After a quarter of an hour's march, they found a 
fine field of barley. " There is the very thing we want," 
says the captain, " Have patience for a few minutes," re- 
plied his guide ; " you shall be satisfied." They went on, 
and at the distance of about a quarter of a league farther, 
they at length reached another field of barley. The troop 
immediately dismounted, cut down the grain, trussed it up, 
and remounted. The officer, upon this, said to his con- 
ductor, " Father, you have given yourself and us unneces- 
sary trouble : the first field was much better than this." 
" Very true, Sir," replied the good old man, " but it was 
not mine." This stroke goes directly to the heart. I defy 
an Atheist to produce any thing to be compared to this. 
And surely he who does not feel his heart warmed by such 
an example of exalted virtue, has not yet acquired the first 
principles of moral taste. 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 12. — On the seventh day thou 
shalt rest ; that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and 
the son of thine handmaid and the stranger may he 
refreshed. 

The late Sir Edward W s, who resided near the city 

of Bristol, was in the habit of driving his carriage and four, 
with a corresponding retinue, about the neighbourhood every 
Sabbath-day. During one of these ungodly excursions, he 
observed at a distance a group of people listening to a dis- 
course of the late excellent Mr James Bundy. The baronet 
ordered his coachman to drive forward to the crowd to see 
what was going on. He then sat in his open carriage, and 
listened with attention to Mr B,, who, with his wonted zeal 
and fidelity, embraced the opportunity of expatiating on the 
impropriety of misemploying the Lord's day, and of causing 
our servants and cattle to do the like. The appeal had the 
desired effect ; Sir Edward immediately ordered his servants 
to return home. Shortly after, calling them into his par- 
lour, he informed them, that for the future he should never 
take his ride of pleasure on the Lord's day ; that they 
should always have it for their own religious benefit, and 
d2 



42 EXODUS XXV. 

which, he hoped, they would zealously improve, by attend- 
ing some place of public worship. He then sent for Mr 
Bundy, and expressed his obligations to him for his faith- 
fulness, and maintained a friendship with him during life. 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 7. — All that the Lord hath said 
will we do, and be obedient. 

" About eighteen months ago," says a correspondent in 
the Christian Herald, " a person called on me, applying for 
fellowship with our church. His knowledge and conduct, 
for a considerable time before, had indicated that he was a 
believer of the Gospel. I asked him what induced him to 
apply now. He told me he had been led to this by his 
lately having had a dream, of which he gave me the follow- 
ing relation : — Being from home on business, and lodging 

in an inn in L , he, during the night, dreamed that he 

died ; that the coffin was provided for his body, and a num- 
ber of people were standing round it. He (t. e. the disem- 
bodied spirit,) with the utmost confidence, addressed them 
in these words — ' You shall now see me ascend into heaven !' 
He ascended so far, when he felt he could go no farther ; 
but, to his great disappointment, was forced downward to 
the ground, while a voice addressed him in these words — 
You have obeyed but in part* He awoke in great agitation 
and distress. He considered his faith and the profession of 
it, in connexion with his notorious neglect of the commands 
of the Lord Jesus, and could give himself no rest without 
endeavouring to obey all the will of the Lord." 

Chap. xxv. ver. 2. — Of every man that giveth it 
willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 

Two ministers collecting for the London Missionary So- 
ciety in Yorkshire, had twenty guineas brought to them by 
a man in low circumstances of life. Doubting whether it 
was consistent with his duty to his family and the world, to 
contribute such a sum, they hesitated to receive it, when he 
answered to the following effect : — " Before I knew the 
grace of our Lord, I was a poor drunkard ; I never could 
save a shilling ; my family were in beggary and rags : but 
since it has pleased God to renew me by his grace, we have 
Veen industrious and frugal ; we have not spent many idle 
shillings, and we have been enabled to put something into 
the bank, and his I freely offer to the blessed cause of our 



EXODUS XXVIII. 43 

Lord and Saviour." — This was the second donation from 
the individual to the same amount. 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 30. — Thou shalt rear up the ta- 
bernacle according to the fashion thereof which was 
shewed thee in the mount. 

When Luther, at the diet of Worms, was urged by 
Eckius, the Pope's legate, to recant, he replied, " I beseech 
you, give me leave to maintain the peace of my own con- 
science, which, if I should consent to you, I cannot do. For 
unless my adversaries can convince me by sound arguments 
taken out of the Holy Scriptures, I cannot satisfy my con- 
science. For I can plainly prove, that both Popes and 
Councils have often erred grievously ; and therefore it would 
be an ungodly thing for me to assent to them, and to depart 
from the Holy Scriptures, which are plain, and alone cannot 
err." 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 1, 2. — Thou shalt make an altar 
of shittim-wood ; and thou shalt overlay it with brass. 

<c This brazen altar," says Mr Henry, " was a type of 
Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. The wood 
had been consumed by the fire from heaven, if it had not 
been secured by the brass ; nor could the human nature of 
Christ have borne the wrath of God, if it had not been sup- 
ported by a divine power. Christ sanctified himself for his 
Church, as their altar, John xvii. 19, and by his mediation 
sanctifies the daily services of his people, who also have a 
right to eat of this altar, Heb. xiii. 10, for they serve at it 
as spiritual priests. To the horns of this altar, poor sinners 
fly for refuge when justice pursues them, and there they are 
safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered." 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 38. — And it shall be upon Aaron's 
forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy 
things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all 
their holy gifts ; and it shall be always upon his fore- 
head, that they may be accepted before the Lord. 

<c My confidence is," said the pious Dr Doddridge shortly 
before his death, " not that I have lived such or such a life, 
or served God in this or the other manner ; I know of no 
prayer I ever offered, no service I ever performed, but there 
has been such a mixture of what was wrong in it, that in- 



44 EXODUS XXXI. 

stead of recommending me to the favour of God, I needed 
his pardon, through Christ, for the same. Yet I am full of 
confidence ; and this is my confidence — there is a hope set 
before me : I have tied, I still fly, for refuge to that hope." 

Chap. xxix. ver. 9. — The priest's office shall be 
theirs. 

A pious lady being at one time among a party of gentle- 
men, by whom the worldly circumstances of ministers be- 
came the topic of conversation, remarks were thrown out, of 
which she could not approve. For a considerable while she 
said nothing, but at last, opening her mouth with a digni- 
fied air, and a decided tone, she pat them all to silence with 
these words, " Well, you may say what you please concern- 
ing the situation of ministers, but, let me tell you, that a 
minister of the Gospel holds a more honourable office than 
a minister of State," 

Chap. xxx. ver. 12. — They shall give every man a 
ransom for his soul. 

An American missionary states, that during almost seven 
years that he resided in Malta, he was witness every Monday 
morning to an affecting and admonitory scene. A man 
passed through the streets, ringing a bell in one hand, and 
rattling a box in the other, crying at every corner, " What 
will you give for the souls ? 'What will you give for the 
souls ?" The women and children came out of the habita- 
tions of poverty, and cast their mites into the box, When 
it is full, it is carried to a neighbouring convent, to pay the 
priests for praying the souls of the dead out of purgatory ! 
Let Protestants be exhorted to " give money for souls" in 
a far different manner, by assisting Christian missions, and 
the circulation of the word of God. 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 13. — Speak thou also unto the 
children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall 
keep. 

The Rev. J. S. Smith, in his boyish days, used means to 
reform his companions from a gross profanation of the Sab- 
bath. Of his zeal in this respect, the following is a pleasing 
instance. It was a common practice in the neighbourhood 
where he dwelt, for boys to go out into the fields on the 
Lord's day to play at foot-ball. Viewing this practice as a 



EXODUS XXXIII, 45 

great evil, he resolved, if possible, to put a stop to it. To 
accomplish this purpose, he called several of them together, 
expostulated with them on the impropriety of their conduct, 
urged them to renounce it for ever, and advised them to 
attend some place of worship on the sacred day. This was 
his first attempt to reform the manners of others, and it 
succeeded beyond his expectations. 

Chap, xxxii. ver. 6. — And the people sat down to 
eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 

" The Chinese," says the Rev. Samuel Dyer, M you 
know, are very polished idolators. A few evenings since, 
there was special worship performing in their temple;; and 
while the worship was proceeding, I was engaged in the 
temple distributing tracts. A priest saw me, and laughed 
very contemptuously at me. One poor man entered the tem- 
ple with a small bundle, and standing at the table in front 
of the idol, he began to open his bundle, talking with any 
one near him with the utmost indifference to the service 
which was going forward ; so little solemnity accompanies 
their worship. When the bundle was opened, a paper, 
containing sweetmeats, was first presented to the idol ; then 
the gold paper was prepared for burning ; and when all 
was ready, the man worshipped ; then tried his fortune ; 
afterwards burnt his paper money (for the use of the dead), 
and let off crackers. He then folded up his present of 
sweetmeats, took them away, and became, I suppose, a 
spectator of the play, opposite the temple gate. These plays 
are performed by the Chinese, for their gods to see ; and 
they always bring a concourse of people to the temple." 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 20. — Thou canst not see my 
face : for there shall no man see me, and live. 

" You teach," said the Emperor Trajan to Rabbi Joshua, 
u that your God is every where, and boasts that he resides 
among your nation ; I should like to see him." " God's 
presence is, indeed, every where," replied Joshua, u but he 
cannot be seen ; no mortal eye can behold his glory." The 
Emperor insisted. " Well," said Joshua, " suppose we try 
to look first at one of his ambassadors ?" The Emperor 
consented. The Rabbi took him into the open air at noon- 
day, and bade him look on the sun in its meridian splen- 
dour. " I cannot," said Trajan, " the light dazzles me." 



46 EXODUS XXXVI. 

" Thou art unable," said Joshua, " to endure the light of 
one of his creatures, and canst thou expect to behold the 
resplendent glory of the Creator ? Would not such a light 
annihilate thee ?" 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 21. — The seventh day thou shalt 
rest : in earing-time and in harvest thou shalt rest. 

One Sabbath, a few children were gathered round the 
porch of a village church, waiting for the commencement of 
public worship, when a waggon, with a number of persons 
in it who were going out on pleasure, stopped, and one of 
the men called out to the children, " Halloo there, what 
sort of religion do you have there ?" One of the young 
lads replied, u A sort of religion that forbids our travelling 
on the Sabbath." 

Chap. xxxv. ver. 25. — All the women, whose hearts 
stirred them up in wisdom, spun goats' hair. 

A poor woman, just after a missionary meeting held in 
the country, called at the lodgings of a minister who had 
been engaged at the meeting, and told him she had been 
prevented from attending it, but hoped she was not too late 
to present a little contribution she wished to make to the 
Society. The poverty of her appearance induced the minister 
to say he feared she could not afford to give any thing ; but 
the poor woman assured him, that though she was a widow, 
and had four children to support by the mangle which she 
worked, she had contrived to save a little ; and that she 
should be much grieved if he should refuse to take it. She 
then untied a bundle she had brought with her, and pro- 
duced 330 farthings, saying that she had laid by one far- 
thing every day for the year past, excepting those days in 
which illness had disabled her from working. 

Chap, xxxvi. ver. 5. — The people bring much mor 
than enough for the service of the Work which tin 
Lord commanded to make. 

It is pleasing to observe the willingness with which many, 
even of the poorer classes of society, contribute to Bible and 
Missionary Societies. A minister in the country, who had 
formed a penny-a-week society in his congregation, gives 
the following account : — " I am happy to inform you, that 
my success has far exceeded my expectations. If our sub- 



EXODUS XXXVIII. 47 

scriptions continue, the annual amount will be considerable. 
One hundred subscribers were obtained the first day. The 
account which the collectors give of their reception among 
the poor is really affecting ; they found some of them stand- 
ing at the doors of their humble abodes, with their pence in 
their hands, and others, whom they had passed by, followed 
them with their money, saying to the collectors, ' Pray do 
not neglect us because we are poor.' A lady in one district 
called on a poor widow, merely to prevent her feelings from 
being hurt, and told her that, owing to her poverty, she did 
not expect any thing from her. 4 O,' replied the poor widow, 
1 I cannot, poor as I am, refuse giving a penny-a-week to- 
wards promoting the cause of that Redeemer who has given 
me the hope of heaven.' This poor widow has entirely to 
support five fatherless children ; and yet she, of her penury, 
thus cast into the missionary treasury. Indeed, from this, 
and many other pleasing occurrences, it is evident that the 
poor consider themselves favoured by being thus called upon. 
The collectors declare that they could not have been better 
received had they gone to distribute money, instead of re- 
ceiving it." 

Chap, xxxvii. ver. 25. — He made the incense-altar, 

The incense to be burnt daily on the altar, has been just- 
ly considered as significant of the intercession of Christ, and 
the prayers of his people. Hence the Psalmist says, " Let 
my prayer be set forth before thee as incense." 

Of Mr Thomas Hooker, of New England, his biographer 
says, " He was a man of prayer ; which, indeed, was a 
ready way to become a man of God. He would say, c that 
prayer was the principal part of a minister's work : it was 
by this that he was to carry on the rest.' Accordingly, he 
devoted one day in a month to prayer, with fasting, before 
the Lord, besides the public fasts, which often occurred. 
He would say, e that such extraordinary favours as the life 
of religion, and the power of godliness, must be preserved 
by the frequent use of such extraordinary means as prayer, 
with fasting ; and that, if professors grew negligent of these 
means, iniquity would abound, and the love of many wax 
cold.' " 

Chap, xxxviii. ver. 8. — He made the laver of brass, 
and the foot of it brass, of the looking-glasses of the 



48 EXODUS XL. 

women assembling, which assembled at the door of the 
tabernacle of the congregation. 

" A gentleman/' says Mr Knill, missionary at Peters- 
burg, "resident on the shores of the Caspian, who once 
cared nothing about Christ or his cause, has, within a few 
years, become a warm-hearted disciple. Knowing his cha- 
racter, I wrote to him to assist me in the distribution of the 
Holy Scriptures. To my request he joyfully agreed ; but 
he did not think it sufficient to contribute towards it him- 
self, but he tried to enlist others also in the good work. He 
mentioned it in particular to a pious lady of his acquaint- 
ance, who had just before received a present of a hundred 
roubles, to purchase a pair of ear-rings. Fired with a hope 
of promoting the eternal happiness of her fellow-creatures, 
she determined to sacrifice her ear-rings to the cause of God, 
and sent the hundred roubles to me. Perhaps this was the 
first time that ever her attachment to the Saviour had called 
for a sacrifice ; and it must be unspeakably gratifying to 
her mind, when reviewing the transaction, to feel that she 
could part with her ornaments for her adorable Redeemer," 

v Chap, xxxix. ver. 30. — Holiness to the Lord, 

" It is plain," says an eminent divine, " from experimen- 
tal observation of the longest standing, and the greatest 
compass, that genuine morality is eminently promoted by 
preaching up the purity of the gospel. The hope that is 
laid up for us in heaven, whereof we hear by the word of 
truth, brings forth fruit in us : 'He that has this hope in 
him, purifies himself, even as God is pure.' — One of the 
martyrs in Queen Mary's days confessed, that his prejudice 
against the Protestants, was for their insisting so much on 
faith, and things of a mysterious nature. ( But,' says he, 
' when among the Papists, I heard nothing but works ; I 
scarce did any. Now, where duties are preached less, I 
find them practised more.* " 

Chap. xl. ver. 36, 37. — When the cloud was taken 
up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel 
went onward in all their journeys : But if the cloud 
were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the 
day that it was taken up. 

(( Nothing was more remarkable," says the biographer of 



LEVITICUS II. 49 

Mr Newton, u than his constant habit of regarding the 
hand of God in every event, however trivial it might appear 
to others. On every occasion — in the concerns of every 
hour — in matters public or private, like Enoch, he ( walked 
with God.' Take a single instance of his state of mind in 
this respect. In walking to his church he would say, ' The 
way of man is not in himself,' nor can he conceive what 
belongs to a single step. When I go to St Mary Wool- 
noth, it seems the same whether I turn down Lothbury, or 
go through the Old Jewry ; but the going through one 
street, and not another, may produce an effect of lasting 
consequence. A man cut down my hammock in sport, but 
had he cut it down half an hour later, I had not been here, 
as the exchange of crew was then making. A man made a 
smoke on the sea-shore, at the same time a ship passed, 
which was thereby brought to, and afterwards brought me 
to England." 



LEVITICUS. 



Chap. i. ver. 3. — He shall offer it of liis own volun- 
tary will. 

When a Missionary Association was first established in 
Huahine, one of the South Sea Islands, and contributions 
were solicited, the people were explicitly informed, that they 
should not be compelled to give any thing ; whatever they 
did, therefore, must be of their own free will. One day a 
native brought a hog to Hautia, who was the treasurer, and, 
throwing the animal down at his feet, said, in an angry 
tone, " Here's a pig for your Society." " Take it back 
again," replied Hautia calmly ; u God does not accept 
angry pigs." He then explained to the man the objects 
of missionary institutions, and the necessity of those who 
supported them doing so from right motives, especially en- 
forcing the Scripture words, K The Lord loveth a cheerful 
giver." The man was obliged to take his hog home again ; 
for though exceedingly chagrined to have it rejected — re- 
fusal being considered a great affront when a present is 
offered — Hautia was too conscientious to accept it. 

Chap. ii. ver. 14. — Thou shalt offer, for the meat- 



50 LEVITICUS III. 

offering of thy hrst-fmits, green ears of corn dried by 
the fire. 

The requiring of green ears of corn in the meat-offering, 
may intimate how acceptable to God early piety is. The 
following is a pleasing instance : 

In the beginning of the last century, Mr Hamilton was 
successively minister of Airth and Stirling. His ministry 
was distinguished for its warmth and evangelical savour ; 
it was, of course, very acceptable, and much attended. At 
that time, the dispensation of the Lord's Supper was at- 
tended by multitudes from the neighbourhood. On one of 
these occasions, at Airth, a young person, at a considerable 
distance, felt a strong desire to attend. This, however, was 
opposed by her elder sister, on account of her tender age 
and inability to sustain the fatigues of such a journey ; but 
still bent on the execution of her purpose, she so arranged 
matters on the preceding evening, that her sister could not, 
even at the earliest hour, go away without awakening her. 
Finding the determination so strong, her sister no longer 
opposed it. On the Sabbath morning, she took her young 
friend to the place of worship. After the celebration of the 
Lord's Supper, Mr Hamilton addressed the communicants 
and audience. In the conclusion, he invited sinners, with 
great fervour and freedom, to the Lord Jesus Christ. The 
riches of divine grace, in the salvation of perishing sinners, 
were exhibited in the most alluring and engaging manner. 
The attention of this young person was excited, and her 
heart sweetly drawn to the Saviour. This gracious season 
was remembered and mentioned by her with pleasure to the 
end of life ; and her descendants, to whom her pious exam- 
ple and instructions were rendered useful, still preserve the 
memory and record of it with a delightful interest. This 
should encourage parents to bring their children, at an early 
age, to attend the ordinances of divine grace in public. 

Chap. hi. ver. 9. — The fat thereof, and the whole 
rump, it shall he take off hard hy the backbone. 

There is a kind of sheep near Aleppo, the tails of which 
are very broad and large, terminating in a small appendix 
that turns back upon it. These tails, Dr Russell informs 
us, are of a substance between fat and marrow, and are not 
eaten separately, but mixed with the lean meat in many of 



LEVITICUS V. 51 

their dishes, and also often used instead of butter : That a 
common sheep of this kind, without the head, feet, skin, &c. 
weighs sixty or seventy English pounds, of which the tail 
usually weighs fifteen pounds and upwards. This species, 
he observes, is by much the most numerous. 

Chap. iv. ver. 2. — If a soul shall sin through igno- 
rance against any of the commandments of the Lord. 

A Hebrew merchant had three negroes, very bad charac- 
ters, who frequently got drunk and robbed him. Observing 
a sudden change in their conduct, he inquired into the cause. 
One of the poor fellows replied, " Massa, God Almighty in 
top!" (above.) He was answered, "Was not God Al- 
mighty in top when you got drunk and robbed me ?" " Yes, 
Massa, but we not know then." He then asked them how 
they came to know. They answered, " Massa, we been 
gone a chapel and preacher tell we so ; and now we fraid to 
get drunk and rob like fore time. God will see, and he 
will be angry ; Him see every thing." 

Chap. v. ver. 1. — If a soul sin, and hear the voice 
of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or 
known of it ; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear 
his iniquity. 

As the sin referred to in the preceding verse appears to 
consist in a concealment of the truth, especially when called 
on oath to declare it, the following anecdote may, in part at 
least, illustrate the passage : — 

Captain (afterwards Admiral) Cornwallis, in order to pre- 
vent profaneness among the ship's crew, had a book to every 
mess to insert each offender's name, and appointed forfeits 
according to the offence. To these rules the captain made 
himself liable ; and, looking over the books one morning 
when at sea, he found his own name inserted, upon which 
he sent for the informer, and inquired what he had said, and 
who was near when he used improper language. Being told 
that the chaplain was at his elbow, he called for the Reverend 
gentleman, and asked him if he recollected hearing him 
say, on the preceding day, " By God." He confessed this, 
but did not think it came within the meaning of the rules. 
The captain observed, " It was certainly an irreverent use 
of the sacred name, and you should have reproved me ; 



52 LEVITICUS VIII. 

you, therefore, shall be punished for neglect, and the in* 
former shall be rewarded with a guinea." 

Chap, vi ver. 6. — He shall restore — the lost thing 
which he found. 

Some years ago, a poor shoemaker found, in a street in 
Liverpool, a bill of exchange for £ 1 10. On being inform- 
ed of its value, with an honest simplicity, he had it cried 
through the streets by the bellman. Several applications 
were soon made to him for the bill : but from the evident 
eagerness of the applicants, and the large sums offered him 
as a reward, he suspected that the bill could not be theirs. 
He accordingly took it to a respectable banker's, where it 
had been drawn, who presently discovered the right owner, 
and rewarded the shoemaker with five guineas for his honesty. 
The poor man received it w r ith gratitude, declaring that this 
sum would do him more good, now that he was assured the 
bill would go to the true owner, than if he had given it to 
others and received a larger sum. 

Chap. vii. ver. 12. — If he offer it for a thanksgiving. 

Mr Rornaine being in company with Mr Hervey, who 
was unwell, at breakfast time, observed him retire to another 
part of the room, taking with him a small basin of milk ; 
and overheard him praying over it thus : " Lord, if I ob- 
tain no nourishment from this food which thou hast given 
me, at least let me get thankfulness from it." 

Chap. viii. ver. 9. — He put the rnitre upon his head. 

In the reign of King Edward VI., when Mr John 
Hooper was made bishop, there was much controversy be- 
tween him and Drs Cranrner and Ridley, about the cap and 
rochet, &c. When, however, they were all imprisoned in 
Queen Mary's reign, Dr Ridley wrote to Hooper in the 
following manner : — " My dear brother, for as much as I 
understand by your works that we thoroughly agree in those 
things which are the grounds and substantial points of our 
religion, against which the world so furiously rageth in these 
days ; however, formerly, in certain bye-matters and circum- 
stances of religion, your wisdom and my simplicity have a 
little jarred, each of us following the abundance of his own 
sense and judgment ; now, I say, be assured, that even with 
my whole heart (God is my witness) in the bowels of Christ, 



LEVITICUS X. 53 

I love you in the truth, and for the truth's sake, which abid- 
eth in us, and shall, by the grace of God, abide for ever." 

Chap. ix. ver. 12. — He slew the burnt-offering ; 
and Aaron s sons presented unto him the blood, which 
he sprinkled round about upon the altar. 

Des Barreaux, a foreigner of eminent station, had been a 
great profligate, and afterwards became a great penitent. 
He composed a piece of poetry after his conversion, the 
leading sentiment of which was to the following effect : — 
" Great God, thy judgments are full of righteousness, thou 
takest pleasure in the exercise of mercy ; but I have sinned 
to such a height, that justice demands my destruction, and 
mercy itself seems to solicit my perdition. Disdain my tears, 
strike the blow, and execute thy judgment. I am willing 
to submit and adore, even in perishing, the equity of thy 
procedure. But on what place will the stroke fall that is 
not covered with the blood of Christ ?" 

Chap. x. ver. 9. — Do not drink wine nor strong 
drink, thou, nor thy sons with you, when ye go into 
the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die : it shall 
be a statute for ever throughout your generations. 

A gentleman travelling in Essex, called at the house of a 
friend, where he met with a young minister who was just 
going to preach in the neighbourhood. The lady of the 
house offered him a glass of spirits before he entered upon 
his work, which he accepted. An elderly man, who was 
present, thus addressed him : — " My young friend, let me 
offer you a word of advice respecting the use of liquors. 
There was a time when I was as acceptable a preacher as 
you now may be ; but by too frequently accepting of the 
well-designed favours of my friends, I contracted a habit of 
drinking, so that now I never go to bed sober if I can get 
liquor. I am, indeed, just as miserable as a creature can be 
on this side of hell !" About two years after this, the tra- 
veller just mentioned had occasion to call again at the same 
house, and made inquiry concerning the unhappy man, when 
he was informed that he had been some time dead ; and no 
doubt in consequence of his intemperance. It was stated 
that, towards the close of his life, he had not drunk to the 
same excess ; but it was only because he could not obtain 
spirituous liquors. 

E 2 ' 



54 LEVITICUS XIII. 

Chap. xi. ver. 9. — Whatsoever hath fins and scales 
in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall 
ye eat. 

Mr Turner, in his History of Providence, relates, that 
when the people of a certain sea-port town (Hastings) in 
England were in great poverty, and suffered much by scar- 
city of money and provisions, it pleased God that an un- 
usual and great shoal of herrings came up the river, by which 
the inhabitants were plentifully supplied for the present ; 
and the week after, a multitude of cod succeeded them, 
which were supposed to have driven the former into the 
river before them ; by which means the necessities of the 
poor inhabitants were unexpectedly and remarkably supplied. 

Chap. xii. ver. 8. — If she be not ahle to bring a 
lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young 
pigeons. 

X>r Chandler, in his travels in Asia Minor, informs us, 
that on their arrival at the town of Guzel-Hissar, they were 
surprised to see around them innumerable tame turtle-doves, 
sitting on the branches of the trees, on the walls and roofs 
of houses, cooing unceasingly. Though these creatures 
migrate in winter, the Jewish worshippers might be supplied 
with offerings, at any season of the year, from the tame ones 
they bred up. 

Chap. xiii. ver. 46. — All the days wherein the 
plague shall be in him he shall be denied ; he is un- 
clean": he shall dwell alone ; without the camp shall 
his habitation be. 

While the law of Moses only required the exclusion of 
the leper from the camp or town where he formerly resided, 
the following account of the treatment of one of these un- 
happy men shows that the dark places of the earth are full 
of cruelty : — " A Hindoo, of the writer cast," says one of 
the Baptist Missionaries in India, " who has been in our 
employment upwards of two years, and of whose veracity I 
have had proof in many instances, informed me yesterday, 
that en the 5th or 6th instant, he saw a Hindoo carpenter 
drowned because he had the leprosy. He was carried from 
one of the ghauts at Alum-gunj in a boat, in the presence 
of a large assembly of people, and when in deep water pu t 



LEVITICUS XVI. 55 

overboard, Two large earthen pots, one filled with sand, 
the other with barley, were fastened to his shoulders. The 
man sunk, but after some time floated on the surface of the 
water. The people in the boat rowed after him and took 
him up, but made sure work of it the second time T 9 

Chap. xiv. ver. 22. — Two turtle-doves, or two 
young pigeons, such as he is able to get. 

Mr Richmond, during his visit to Iona, frequently preach- 
ed in the school -house. On one of these occasions, he ad- 
verted to the Jewish Missions. The hum of the children 
was heard, " We will give, we will give !" Some persons 
present attempted to check their zeal, and keep silence, but 
all voices were raised in reply, " The bairns will have it, 
the bairns will have it !" meaning, the children would make a 
collection ; and they presented to him the sum of £ 2, Os, 9d, 
— a magnificent offering to him whose grace had touched 
their hearts and inspired their zeal. Of these poor islanders 
it might be truly said, " Their deep poverty abounded unto 
the riches of their liberality." 

Chap. xv. ver. 12. — And the vessel of earth that he 
touched which hath the issue shall be broken : and 
every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. 

Dr Clark was one evening entertained very kindly by a 
Turk and his family. After leaving the place, the next 
morning he returned for a book he had left behind, when 
he found his kind host and all the family employed in break- 
ing and throwing away the earthen-ware, plates, and dishes, 
from which his guests had eaten, and purifying the other 
utensils and articles of furniture, by passing them through 
fire or water. 

Chap. xvi. ver. 22. — And the goat shall bear upon 
him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited : 
and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. 

The Aswamedha Jug is an ancient rite, in which a horse 
was brought and sacrificed, with some ceremonies very simi- 
lar to those prescribed in the Mosaic law. The horse so 
sacrificed, bears, in place of the sacrificer, his sins with him 
into the wilderness, into which he is turned adrift, (for, 
from this particular instance, it seems that the sacrificing- 
knife was not always employed,) and becomes the expiatory 



56 LEVITICUS XVIII. 

victim of those sins. Mr Halhed observes, that this cere- 
mony reminds us of the scape-goat of the Israelites ; and, 
indeed, it is not the only one in which a particular coinci- 
dence between the Hindoo and Mosaic systems of theology 
may be traced. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 11. — It is the blood that maketh 
an atonement for the soul. 

The first sermon which the late Rev. Robert Hall preach- 
ed at Cambridge, after he became a settled pastor, was in 
confirmation of the atonement. Immediately after the ser- 
vice, one of the congregation, who had followed Mr Robin- 
son through all his changes of sentiment until he was hover- 
ing over the very undefinable barrier which separates the 
colder Socinanism from infidelity, went into the vestry, and 
said, u Mr Hall, this preaching won't do for us ; it will 
only suit a congregation of old women !" — " Do you mean 
my sermon, Sir, or the doctrine V — " Your doctrine." — 
" Why is it that the doctrine will only do for old women V 
— u Because it may suit the musings of people tottering on 
the brink of the grave." — (i Thank you, Sir," said Mr Hall, 
" for your concessions. The doctrine will not suit people 
of any age if it be not true ; and if it be true, it is equally 
important at every age. So that you will hear it again if 
you hear me." 

Chap, xyiii. ver. 21. — Thou shalt not let any of 
thy seed pass through the fire to Moloch. 

'•'An eminent historian," says Dr Doddridge, " speaking 
of that diabolical custom which so long prevailed amongst 
the old Carthaginians, of offering their children to a detes- 
table idol, (which was formed in such a manner, that an 
infant put into its hands, which were stretched out to receive 
it, would immediately fall into a gulph of fire,) adds a cir- 
cumstance, which one cannot mention without horror : — 
That the mothers who, with their own hands, presented the 
little innocents, thought it an unfortunate omen that the 
victim should be offered weeping ; and, therefore, used a 
great many fond artifices to divert it, that, soothed by the 
kisses and caresses of a parent, it might smile in that dread- 
ful moment in which it was to be given up to the idol. 
Pardon me, my friends, such is your concern for the present 
ease and prosperity of your children, while their souls are 



LEVITICUS XX. 57 

neglected, — a fond solicitude that they may pass smiling 
into the hands of the destroyer." 
r Chap. xix. ver. 16. — Thou shalt not go up and 
down as a talebearer among thy people. 

At a small town in shire lives a decent honest 

woman, who has for more than forty years gained her liveli- 
hood by washing in gentlemen's families. She gives the 
highest satisfaction to all her employers, and has, in several 
instances, been the whole of that time in the employ of the 
same families. Indeed, those whom she has once served 
never wish to part with her. She has one distinguishing 
excellency, it is this : through all this long course of years, 
she has never been known, by either mistress or servant, 
to repeat in one house what was said or done in another. 

Chap. xx. ver. 27. — A man also, or woman, that 
hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely 
be put to death. 

" Some time since," says one, " I was on a visit in Wilt- 
shire, and a large parcel of tracts had been recently received 
by the worthy family, which they were sorting for distribu- 
tion amongst the Sunday school children. Whilst I was 
looking over the tracts, I cast my eyes upon one that related 
to fortune-telling ; at that moment the servant entered the 
parlour, and announced that a woman was at the door, and 
desired to know if any of the party would have their fortune 
told. I instantly ran out and accosted the woman, 6 So you 
can tell fortunes !' < Yes, Sir.' 'And can you tell mine ?' 
{ Yes.' c Ah ! I do not wish to have my fortune told, for 
I am a fortune-teller too.' She looked extremely confused, 
and faintly replied, — < Indeed, Sir !' f Yes, and I will tell 
you your fortune ; it is, that if you continue in your present 
course of wickedness and deception, neglecting God's salva- 
tion, and disregarding the eternal state of your soul, you 
will be lost for ever and ever ! Let me exhort you to leave 
off your present sinful course, and pray to God to turn your 
heart. Are you not ashamed to go about the country, and 
thus impose upon servants and young people ? There,' said 
I, putting some of the fortune-teller's tracts into her hand, 
' go and read these carefully, and sell them instead of the 
wretched trash you have already, they will procure you a 
trifle, and be sure to attend to what has been said to you on 



58 LEVITICUS XXI. 

the subject.' The woman appeared affected with the advice, 
arid, after expressing her thanks, curtseyed, and went 
away." 

Chap. xxi. ver. 5. — They shall not make — -any 
cuttings in their flesh. 

" A few months ago," says Mr George, a missionary in 
Ceylon, u I witnessed a strange and degrading scene. A 
fine young man, apparently about twenty-five years of age, 
being prompted by a chimerical imagination, and the false 
insinuations of the priests, resolved to render propitious the 
goddess Ammen, and thereby obtain great advantages. 
With these hopes, he submitted to a most torturing cere- 
mony, as the goddess to be honoured is supposed to be of a 
sanguinary temper. She is said to have murdered her own 
child, and to have drunk its blood. To please this demon, 
he first discoloured his own body with paints and saffron, so 
as to look terrible ; and having partaken plentifully of nar- 
cotics, he proceeded to walk round the temple upon slippers 
studded with nails, which pierced his bare feet ; after which 
he was supported while he stood on one foot on the point 
of a pole about six feet high, called calloo. After this, an 
iron hook, at least five inches long, with two prongs, more 
than an inch in circumference, was thrust through the skin 
and muscles of his back, and a rope, about forty yards in 
length, was attached to the ring of the hook. This was held 
by two men, to prevent the wretched man from destroying 
himself or others ; for if he were to get loose, they said he 
would run into the fire or water, or commit murder, or 
whatever the spirit of the goddess, by which he was inspired, 
might prompt him to do ; at least so they believed. In this 
way, the infatuated man was led round the neighbourhood. 
The applause of the multitude, — the impulse of his own 
deluded mind, — the stimulating effect of the narcotics, — and 
the excruciating pain he endured from the hook, made him 
quite frantic ; so that he would frequently, with almost in- 
conceivable agility, bound forwards the length of his rope 
and attempt to escape, but was prevented by the men who 
held it. His back was thus lacerated by the prongs of the 
hook, and the blood occasionally flowing from the wound, 
and mixing with the paints on his body, made him appear, 
when in his gesticulations, the most demon-like one could 
possibly imagine. During the ceremony he was an object 



LEVITICUS XXIV. 59 

of the greatest awe, for the people imagine such a one to be 
possessed of a supernatural influence, and that all whom he 
blesses are blessed, and whom he curses are cursed : hence 
they scrupulously avoid offending him, and to obtain his 
blessings, are very liberal in their offerings to the Brahmins." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 32. — Neither shall ye profane my 
holy name. 

The late Dr Gifford, as he was one day showing the Bri- 
tish Museum to strangers, was very much vexed by the 
profane conversation of a young gentleman who was present. 
The Doctor taking an ancient copy of the Septuagint, and 
showing it to him, — " O !" said the gentleman, " I can read 
this." " AVell," said the Doctor, " read that passage," 
pointing to the third commandment. Here the gentleman 
was so struck, that he immediately desisted from swearing, 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 3. — Ye shall do no work therein : 
it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. 

"When Mr Crook and his family arrived on the coast of 
Otaheite, in the brig Active, they were much surprised that 
not a single native could be seen all along the shore as the 
vessel sailed ; nor could they perceive any smoke arising 
from their dwellings. This excited in the minds of Mr 
Crook and others, a painful suspicion that the island had 
been subdued, and all the inhabitants cut off in the wars. 
In the midst of this agitation of mind, one of the sailors, an 
Otaheitan, who left Port- Jackson in the Active, observed 
that the natives were keeping the Sabbath-day : that of late 
they did no kind of work, nor cooked any victuals, nor went 
out of their houses except to worship God ; and that the 
whole of the day was employed in religious worship, ot in 
teaching one another to read. At length the vessel came 
to anchor in Matavia Bay, and not a native made his appear- 
ance till Monday morning, when great numbers repaired to 
the brig, bringing with them the usual testimonies of hof- 
pitality ; thus fully satisfying all on board, that, as before 
noticed, they had been observing the Sabbath. 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 11. — The Israelitish woman's son 
blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. 

One evening, as the Rev. William Wilson of Perth 
was passing along the streets of that town, three soldiers 



60 LEVITICUS XXV. 

then quartered in it, happened to walk behind him, who 
were indulging in the utterance of most profane and blas- 
phemous language. One of them, on some frivolous ac- 
count, declared it to be his wish, that God Almighty might 
damn his soul in hell to all eternity. Mr Wilson imme- 
diately turned round, and with a look of dignity and com- 
passion, said, u Poor man, and what if God should say 
amen, and answer that prayer !" Mr Wilson passed on. 
The man seemed to stand petrified, and on going home to 
his quarters, was in such distraction of mind and feeling, 
that he knew not whither to turn for relief. He was soon 
afterwards seized with fever, under which he continued to 
suffer the most awful forebodings of eternal misery. His 
case was so singular, that many Christians went to visit 
him, to whom he invariably said he was sure of being be- 
yond the reach of mercy, and that God had sent his angel 
to tell him so. One of them asked him to describe the ap- 
pearance of the person who had pronounced this doom on 
him. He did so, and the visitant at once perceiving that it 
must have been Mr Wilson, inquired if he would wish again 
to see him. " Oh," said he, " I would wish above every 
thing to see him, but he will not come near a wretch like 
me." Mr Wilson was soon brought, and told him of the 
way of salvation through Christ crucified, and encouraged 
him to flee for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before 
him. His words being accompanied by Divine power, the 
poor soldier was enabled to believe in Christ, and thus 
found peace and comfort to his troubled soul. He soon 
afterwards recovered, and became a very exemplary Chris- 
tian ; and, as he felt the army unfavourable to a religious 
life, Mr W. at his request, used influence, and procured 
his discharge. He settled in Perth, became a member of 
the Church, attached himself steadily to Mr Wilson, and 
was through life a comfort to him, and an ornament to the 
Christian profession. 

Chap. xxv. ver. 35.— And if thy brother be waxen 
poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt 
relieve him ; yea, though he be a stranger, or a so- 
journer ; that he may live with thee. 

Mr H — , an ingenious artist, being driven out of all em- 
ployment, and reduced to great distress, had no resource to 



LEVITICUS XXVII. 61 

which to apply except that of an elder brother, who was in 
good circumstances. To him, therefore, he applied, and 
begged some little hovel to live in, and some small provision 
for his support. The brother melted into tears, and said, 
" You, my dear brother ! you live in a hovel ! You are a 
man ; you are an honour to the family. I am nothing. 
You shall take this house and the estate, and I will be your 
guest, if you please." The brothers lived together without 
its being distinguishable who was proprietor of the estate, 
till the death of the elder put the artist in possession of it. 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 36. — I will send a faintness into 
their hearts in the lands of their enemies ; and the 
sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them ; and they 
shall flee, as fleeing from a sword ; and they shall 
fall when none pursueth. 

A passenger and a lieutenant were passing the New York 
Mariners' Church together, when the former observed, 
" That place will be the ruin of sailors." The lieutenant 
asked him why. The passenger replied, u By stuffing their 
heads with religion, and making them unfit for the duties 
they are called to, especially in fighting the enemy." The 
lieutenant asked him if he thought that religion made a man 
less industrious or less brave. The passenger assented to 
that opinion. The lieutenant, who was about forty-seven 
years of age, then said, " that he had been the greater part 
of his life at sea, and had been in many engagements ; that 
he had never seen the religious man shrink from his duty, 
or be a coward ; and that the reason was obvious, for when 
he goes into an engagement he has but one enemy to engage 
with, whilst the irreligious man has two : he has to contend 
with one within as well as one without." The passenger 
ingenuously acknowledged, that the enemy within was cer- 
tainly the worse of the two, and that the lieutenant had the 
best of the argument. 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 30. — All the tithe of the land, 
whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the 
tree, is the Lord's ; it is holy unto the Lord. 

John Frederic Oberlin, a minister of the gospel in France, 
happening to read one day, with more attention than usual, 
the accounts of the tithes in the Books of Moses, was so 



62 LUMBERS II. 

struck with some of them, as to resolve from that moment 
to devote three tithes of all he possessed to the service of 
God and the poor. The resolution was no sooner made than 
put into execution, for whatever Oberlin conceived it to be 
his duty to do, he conscientiously, and without delay, set 
about it. From that period till the end of his life, even 
during the most calamitous seasons of the Revolution, he 
always scrupulously adhered to the plan, and often said that 
he abounded in wealth. 



NUMBERS. 



Chap. i. ver. 3. — All that are able to go forth to 
war in Israel. 

" At Brussels," says Simpson, in his Visit to Flanders, 
" and wherever I went in the Netherlands, when the Eng- 
lish troops were mentioned, whom they likewise much ad- 
mired, the natives always returned to the Scotch Highlanders. 
c They are good and kind as well as brave. They are the 
only soldiers who become members of the family, in houses 
where they are billetted ; they even carry about the children, 
and do the domestic work.' The favourite proverbial form 
of compliment was, c Lions in the field, and lambs in the 
house.' There was a competition among the inhabitants who 
should have them in their houses ; and when they returned 
wounded, the same house they had left had its doors opened, 
and the family went out some miles to meet our own Scotch- 
men. The people had many instances to relate of the ge- 
nerosity of these men ; after the battle, many Highlanders, 
themselves wounded, were seen binding up the wounds of 
the French, and assisting them with their arm." 

Chap. ii. ver. 2. — Every man of the children of 
Israel shall pitch by his standard, with the ensign 
of their father's honse. 

Pitts, an eastern traveller, in his account of his return 
from Mecca, describes those lights by which they travel 
during the night in the desert, and which are carried on 
the tops of poles to direct their march. " They are some- 
what like iron stoves," says he, "into which they put that 



; 



NUMBERS V. 63 

dry wood, with which some of the camels are loaded. It is 
carried in great sacks, which have a hole near the bottom, 
where the servants take it out as they see the fires need a 
recruit. Every cotter (or company) has one of these poles 
belonging to it, some of which have ten, some twelve of 
these lights on their tops, or more or less ; and they are 
likewise of different figures, as well as numbers ; one, per- 
haps, oval, like a gate, another triangular, or like N, or M, 
&c. so that every one knows by them his respective cotter. 
They are carried in the front, and set up at some distance 
from one another, in the place where the caravan is to 
pitch, before that comes up. They are also carried by day, 
not lighted ; but yet, by the figure and number of them, 
the pilgrims are directed to what cotter they belong, as sol- 
diers are, by their colours, where to rendezvous ; and with- 
out such directions, it would be impossible to avoid confu- 
sion in such a vast number of people." 

Chap. iii. ver. 10. — Aaron and his sons — shall wait 
on their priest's office. 

" It is most honourable," says Dr Willet, " for a soldier 
to die fighting, and for a bishop or pastor to die praying ; 
and, if my merciful God shall vouchsafe to grant me my 
request, my earnest desire is, that, in writing and comment- 
ing upon some part of the Scripture, I may finish my 
days." This request was granted him, for he was called 
hence as he was composing a commentary upon Leviticus. 

Chap. iv. ver. 3. — From thirty years old and up- 
wards, even until fifty years old — to do the work in 
the tabernacle of the congregation. 

That indefatigable servant of Christ, the Rev. George 
Whitefield, preached, in the course of his ministry, which 
included thirty-four years, eighteen thousand sermons ; 
which was upwards of five hundred in a year. The day 
preceding his death, he expressed a great desire to enter 
into his eternal rest ; at the same time saying, u Lord, 
thou knowest I am not weary of thy work, though I am 
often weary in it." 

Chap. v. ver. 17. — And the priest shall take holy 
water in an earthen vessel. 

Similar to this ordeal, by the water of jealousy, is the 



64 NUMBERS VIII. 

practice of some of the Africans, among whom Mr Park 
travelled. He says, that, " at Baniferile, one of the slatees 
(slave merchants) returning to his native town, as soon as 
he had seated himself on a mat by the threshold of his 
door, a young woman, his intended bride, brought a little 
water in a calabash, and kneeling down before him, desired 
him to wash his hands ; when he had done this, the girl 
with a tear of joy sparkling in her eyes, drank the water ; 
this being considered as the greatest proof she could give 
him of fidelity and attachment." 

Chap. vi. ver. 3. — He shall separate himself from 
wine and strong drink. 

A heathen king, who had been for years confirmed in 
the sin of drunkenness, by the evil practices of white men 
on the Sandwich Islands, had been led to forsake the dread- 
ful habit. He said lately to a missionary, " Suppose you 
put 4000 dollars in one hand, and a glass of rum in the 
other, you say, you drink this rum, I give you 4000 dol- 
lars, I no drink it ; you say you kill me, I no drink it." 

Chap. vh. ver. 89. — ^Tien Moses was gone into 
the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, 
then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him 
from off the mercy-seat. 

Some English soldiers, who were quartered on a settle- 
ment in Africa, where the climate was hot and unwhole- 
some, attended no place of worship, nor had any clergyman 
with them. While they were in this situation, a fatal dis- 
temper broke out among them, and carried them off daily. 
A poor negro, who was witness to the case, and probably 
to their neglect of prayer and other ordinances, made this 
observation in reference to their conduct: — " The English 
never speak to God Almighty — God Almighty never speaks 
to them ; so the devil comes to fetch them away." 

Chap. viii. ver. 24. — They shall go in to wait upon 
the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. 

The residence of the late Rev. David Brown in Calcutta, 
was at a considerable distance from the Mission Church, 
where he preached ; but no weather ever deterred him from 
meeting the people at the stated periods of divine service. 
A^d when on any occasion, and even in cases of indisposi- 



NUMBERS IX. 65 

tion, he has been urged to postpone the service, he would 
not consent ; for he has observed, " If the hearers once 
find a minister to be irregular in his attendance on them, 
they will quickly take courage to become irregular in at- 
tending him; but when my congregation sees that no 
inconvenience whatever makes me neglect them, they will 
be ashamed to keep away on any frivolous pretext." 

Chap. ix. ver. 18. — At the commandment of the 
Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the 
commandment of the Lord they pitched : as long as 
the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in 
their tents. 

The Rev. Oliver Hey wood, having been settled some 
time at Coley, near Halifax, began to think of entering 
into the married state. The following are his remarks on 
this subject : — "After I had continued here a considerable 
time, I looked out for a suitable help-meet. I was directed 
to divers, and then stopped in my progress. Many times 
I had good hopes that I was near a conjugal relation, but 
was disappointed by some strange means or other. This 
was no small trouble to me, but was the means of humbling 
my heart, and sending me moTe frequently and earnestly to 
the throne of grace. I was often afraid of missing my 
way, and as often begged direction, pleading this promise, 
that God will teach the humble his way, and the meek he 
will guide in judgment. I desired not to follow my own 
fancy, but God's counsel. Such observable providences as 
I noticed about this time, concerning these things, did 
mightily prevail upon me to wean me from the world, and 
set my heart on heaven : yea, I have been convinced there- 
by of the deceit of strong impressions and persuasions that 
such things would come to pass. — Come, my soul, let me 
lead thee in a rational way. Stay awhile, and wait God's 
time, for he is waiting to be gracious to thee, when thou 
art prepared for the mercy. He will meet thee in his own 
time and way ; and when it comes, it will be the surest and 
most seasonable blessing that ever thou hadst in thy life. 
In the meantime, if God cause thee to live more to him, 
and to have more communion with him, it will be equiva- 
lent to the blessing itself." Mr Hey wood was at length 
married on 12th April 1G55, to Miss Angier ; daughter of 
F 2 



66 NUMBERS XII. 

a minister in Yorkshire, a lady distinguished for her"piety 
and prudence, her amiable disposition, and personal accom- 
plishments. 

Chap. x. ver. 29. — We are journeying unto the 
place of which the Lord said, I will give it you : come 
thou with us, and we will do thee good ; for the Lord 
hath spoken good concerning Israel. 

After Mr Philip Henry, who came to Worthenbury a 
stranger, had been in the country for some time, his attach- 
ment to Miss Matthews, afterwards his wife, became mani- 
fest ; and it was mutual. Among the other objections 
urged by her friends against the connection, was this — that 
although Mr Henry was a gentleman, and a scholar, and an 
excellent preacher, he was quite a stranger, and they did 
not even know where he came from. " True," replied Miss 
Matthews, " but I know where he is going, and I should 
like to go with him.' " 

Chap. xi. ver. 29. — And Moses said unto him, 
Enviest thou for my sake ? Would God that all the 
Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would 
put his Spirit upon them ! 

Mr Venn, when removed to the obscurity of Yelling, 
never appeared to gain acceptance with the rude rustics 
amongst whom he sojourned ; and at length, being incapa- 
ble of much service, he was assisted by a curate from 
Wales, who attracted the people surprisingly, " Honest 
Evans," said he, " carries all before him." His family 
were a little jealous of this unexpected preference ; but he 
rebuked them : " Carry me to hear him," said he, " God 
honours him, and I will honour him. Have you ever 
studied that text, brother — c He must increase, but I must 
decrease V 'A man can receive nothing, except it be given 
him from heaven. 1 " 

Chap. xii. ver. 8. — Wherefore then were ye not 
afraid to speak against my servant Moses ? 

The late Dr Waugh of London, being once present in a 
company consisting of nearly forty gentlemen, when a 
young man, who was then a student for the ministry, was 
entertaining those around him with ungenerous strictures 
upon a popular preacher in the city, he looked at him for a 



NUMBERS XIV. 67 

time with a strong mixture of pity and grief in his counte- 
nance. When he had by this manner arrested the attention 
of the speaker, he mildly, but pointedly, remarked — " My 
friend, there is a saying in a good old book, which I would 
recommend to your reflection : 4 The Spirit that dwelled; 
within us lusteth to envy.' " 

Chap. xiii. ver. 23. — And they came unto the 
brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch 
with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between 
two upon a staff. 

Doubdan relates, that, travelling in the country about 
Bethlehem, he found a most delightful valley, full not only 
of aromatic herbs and rose-bushes, but planted with vines, 
which, he supposed, were of the choicest kind ; and that 
it was indeed the valley of Eshcol, whence the spies car- 
ried that prodigious branch of grapes to Moses, " It is 
true," says this writer, " I have seen no such bunches of 
grapes, not having been here in the time of the vintage ; 
but the monks assured me that they still find here some 
that weigh ten or twelve pounds. As to the wine, I have 
tasted of it many times, and have always found it the most 
agreeable of that made in the Holy Land. It is a white 
wine, which has, however, something of a reddish cast, is 
somewhat of the muscadel kind, and very delicious to drink 5 
without producing any bad effects." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 27. — I have heard the murmurings 
of the children of Israel, which they murmur against 
me. 

A person with not very ample means of support, was 
burthened with a large family. A neighbour had just 
called to tell him of a friend who had got a prize in the 
lotfery, when he was also informed of the birth of his 
twelfth child. He exclaimed, peevishly, Ci God sends meat 
to others, children to me." It so happened, that God, at 
whose government he had so impiously murmured, sent him 
those riches he longed for. But as he sent him the wished- 
for wealth, he deprived him of the children he had com- 
plained of. He saw them one by one go to the grave be- 
fore him ; and in advanced life, and great affluence, when 
he cndurul the stroke of having his last beloved daughter 



68 NUMBERS XVI. 

taken from his eyes, he bitterly remembered (it is hoped. 
with salutary bitterness ; ) his former rebellious murmurings 
against God, 

Cliap. xv. ver. 28. — And the priest shall make an 
atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when 
he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an 
atonement for him ; and it shall be forgiven him. 

" During part of the time I was in the custom-house 
employ," says Mr Newton, 6i I took a certain kind of fee 
which came into my pocket, which, had I thought it wrong, 
I would sooner have put my hand into the fire. One day 
I went into a house, when 1 saw a book of Mr Wesley's 
lying on the table, which treated on different kinds of oaths, 
and showing how much they were violated. This opened 
my mind. I mentioned my scruples to the , who en- 
deavoured to remove them. He assured me, that the , 

in administering the oath, meant that these perquisites 
should be taken. This did not satisfy me ; I wrote to two 
clergymen, stating the case, for their counsel how to act. 
After hearing their opinions, I took no more fees. My 
conscience formerly was uninformed, and did not chide me ; 
— nay, on a Saturday evening, when I found I had been 
successful that week, I thanked the Lord for it." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 29.— If these men die the common 
death of all men, or if they be visited after the visita- 
tion of all men. then the Lord hath not sent me. 

About the year 1 793, an awful incident occured at Salem, 
in the State of New Jersey. There had been a revival of 
religion, and the pious part of the community had been dis- 
turbed with riots and mobs ; but, on making application to 
the civil magistrate, these tumults had been effectually sup* 
pressed. The opposers of religion turned their attention to 
a new method of entertainment ; acting in a farcical way 
at religious meetings, pretending to speak of their expe- 
riences, to exhort, <5cc, in order to amuse one another in a 
profane theatrical manner. One night, a young actress 
stood up on one of the benches, pretending to speak of her 
experience ; and, with mock solemnity, cried out, " Glory 
to God, I have found peace, I am sanctified, I am now fit 
to die." Scarcely had this unhappy girl uttered these 
words, before she actually dropped dead upon the floor, and 



NUMBERS XVIII. 69 

was taken up a lifeless corpse. Struck with this awful visi- 
tation, the auditors were instantly seized with inexpressible 
terror, and every face was covered with consternation and 
dismay. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 8. — On the morrow Moses went 
into the tabernacle of witness ; and, behold, the rod of 
Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought 
forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 

The charitable society for the relief of the widows and 
children of clergymen, since known by the name of the 
" Corporation for the Sons of the Clergy," was first com- 
menced in the year 1655. The first sermon was preached 
at St Paul's, on the 5th of November that year, by the Rev. 
George Hall, afterwards Bishop of Chester, from the fol- 
lowing text : — " The rod of Aaron budded, and bloomed 
blossoms, and yielded almonds." The preacher enforced 
the necessity and usefulness of a settled ministry ; but his 
sermon breathed great moderation, considering the ranco- 
rous feuds then existing in the Church. These he noticed. 
" Let these ill-invented terms," said he, " whereby we have 
been distinguished from each other, be swallowed up in 
that name which will lead us hand in hand to heaven — the 
name of Christians. If my stomach, or any of yours, rise 
against the name of brotherly communion, which may con- 
sist with our several principles retained, not differing in 
substantiate, God take down that stomach, and make us see 
how much we are concerned to keep the unity of the Spirit 
in the bond of peace. Why should some, in the height of 
their zeal for the liturgy, suppose there can be no service of 
God but where that is used ? Why should others, again, 
think their piety concerned and trespassed upon, if I prefer 
and think fit to use, a set form ? There must be abate- 
ments and allowances of each other, a coming down of our 
punctilios, or we shall never give a good account to God." 

Chap, xviii. ver. 1. — And the Lord said unto Aaron, 
Thou, and thy sons, and thy father s house with thee, 
shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary : and thou 
and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your 
priesthood. 

It was the constant endeavour of the Rev. S. Kilpin to 



70 NUMBERS XX. 

go from the closet to the pulpit. His expression was, " I 
need to have my heart warmed by the Sun of Righteousness 
ere I address the hearts of others." He often remarked, 
iC I have preached with self- application to-day, and have 
been humbled in the dust, or have derived divine light from 
the subject presented to view, if no one else is benefited." 
Frequently he exclaimed, after four or five public services 
on the Sabbath-day, " Never does the blood of Christ appear 
so valuable as at the close of such a Sabbath. In this 
fountain I bathe. Lord, pardon the sins of my holy duties." 

Chap. xix. ver. 20. — The man that shall be un- 
clean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be 
cut off from among the congregation, because he hath 
defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. 

A person on a journey, not much acquainted with true 
religion, after being for some time pensive, exclaimed to his 
companion, " I never shall forget an expression my friend 
made on his dying bed some years ago. On being asked 
what it was, it was said to be this : — c You must die, as I 
soon shall ; but if your heart be not changed, you cannot 
enter the kingdom of heaven ; and if that be the case, I 
think we shall never meet again.' " 

Chap. xx. yer. 5. — Wherefore have ye made us to 
come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil 
place ? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, 
or of pomegranates ; neither is there any water to 
drink. 

Mr Cecil, riding one day with a friend in a very windy 
day, the dust being very troublesome, his companion wished 
that they could ride in the fields, where they would be free 
from dust ; and this wish he repeated more than once while 
on the road. At length they reached the fields, when the 
flies so teased his friend's horse, that he could scarcely keep 
his seat on the saddle. On his bitterly complaining, " Ah ! 
Sir," said Mr Cecil, " when you were in the road, the dust 
was your only trouble, and all your anxiety was to get into 
the fields ; you forgot that the fly was there. Now this is 
a true picture of human life, and you will find it so in all 
the changes you make in future. We know the trials of 
our present situation, but the next will have trials, and 
perhaps worse, though they may be of a different kind." 






NUMBERS XXI. 71 

Chap. xxi. ver. 4. — The soul of the people was 
much discouraged because of the way. 

A stage coach was, a short time since, passing through 
the interior of Massachusetts, on the way to Boston. It 
was a warm, summer day, and the coach was filled with 
passengers, all impatient to arrive at the city at an early 
hour in the evening. The excessive heat rendered it neces- 
sary for the driver to spare his horses more than usual. 
Most of the passengers were fretting and complaining that 
he did not urge his horses along faster. But one gentle- 
man sat in the corner of the stage calm and quiet. The 
irritation which was destroying the happiness of all the 
others, seemed not to disturb his feelings in the least. At 
last the coach broke down as they were ascending a long 
steep hill, and the passengers were compelled to alight, and 
travel some distance on foot under the rays of the burning 
sum This new interruption caused a general burst of 
vexatious feelings. All the party, with the exception of 
the gentleman alluded to, toiled up the hill, irritated and 
complaining. He walked along, good humoured and 
happy, and endeavouring by occasional pleasantry of 
remark to restore good humour to the party. It was 
known that this gentleman, who was extensively engaged 
in mercantile concerns, had business which rendered it 
necessary that he should be in the city at an early hour. 
The delay was consequently to him a serious inconvenience- 
Yet, while all the rest of the party were ill-humoured and 
vexed, he alone was untroubled. At last one asked how 
it was that he retained his composure under such vex- 
atious circumstances ? The gentleman replied, that he 
could have no controul over the circumstances in which he 
was then placed ; that he had commended himself and his 
business to the protection of the Lord, and that if it were the 
Lord's will that he should not enter Boston at as early an 
hour as he desired, it was his duty patiently and pleasantly 
to submit. With these feelings he was patient and submis- 
sive, and cheerful. The day, which to the rest of the 
party was rendered disagreeable by vexation and complaint, 
was by him passed in gratitude and enjoyment. And 
when, late in the evening, he arrived in the city with a 
serene mind, he was prepared to engage in his duties. 



72 NUMBERS XXV. 

Chap. xxii. ver. 18. — Balaam said, If Balak would 
give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go 
beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or 

ore. 

K Four individuals," says a clergyman in Ireland, "have, 
within a few months, come over to us, having publicly re- 
nounced the errors of tlie Church of Rome. One of these 
persons, an individual of some little importance amongst 
them, has been most bitterly persecuted ; but, though of- 
fered L. 50 by a near relation, through the medium of her 
former priest, she refused the bribe, saying, c Take back the 
price of sin : Judas betrayed his Master for thirty pieces of 
silver ; I will not deny Christ for fifty pieces of gold.' " 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 10. — Let me die the death of the 
righteous, and let my last end he like his. 

Dr Ailmer, rector of Much Hadham, Herts, died in 
1025, closing his own eyelids, and with these words in his 
mouth : — " Let my people know that their pastor died un- 
daunted, and not afraid of death ! I bless my God I have 
no fear, no doubt, no reluctance, but a sure confidence in 
the sin-overcoming merits of Jesus Christ." 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 17. — There shall come a star out 
of Jacob. 

Mr Kenwick, the last of the Scottish martyrs, speaking 
of his sufferings for conscience' sake, says, a Enemies think 
themselves satisfied that we are put to wander in mosses, 
and upon mountains ; but even amidst the storms of these 
last two nights, I cannot express what sweet times I have 
had, when I had no covering but the dark curtains of night. 
Yea, in the silent watch, my mind was led out to admire 
the deep and inexpressible ocean of joy, wherein the whole 
family of heaven swim. Each star led me to wonder what 
H e must be, who is the Star of Jacob, of whom all stars 
h rrow their shining." 

Chap. xxv. ver. 13. — Phinehas was zealous for 

his God. 

JMr Andrew Melville, professor of divinity at St An- 
drews, in the reign of James VI,, was a very bold and 
zealous man for the cause of God and truth. When some 



NUMBERS XXVIII. 73 

of his more moderate brethren blamed him for being too 
hot and fiery, he was wont to reply, " If you see my fire 
go downwards, set your foot upon it and put it out ; but if 
it go upward, let it return to its own place." 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 9. — They strove against the Lord. 

A minister praying for a child apparently dying, said, 
" If it be thy will, spare .*' The wretched and dis- 
tracted mother, interrupting him, cried, u It must be his 
will ; I will have no i/s." The child, to the surprise of 
many, recovered, but lived to break his mother's heart, and 
was publicly executed at the age of twenty-two. 

%J Chap, xxvii. ver. 16, 17. — Let the Lord, the God 
r of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congre- 
gation — that the congregation of the Lord be not as 
sheep which have no shepherd. 

The following reflections, occasioned by the death of two 
ministers residing in the same neighbourhood, who died 
within two days of each other, have been extracted from an 
excellent little volume, entitled, " Sacred Aphorisms," by 
Mr Thomas Pauling — " Two famous lights in one week, 
are put, not under a bushel, but under a grave-stone. God 
is now calling in his labourers, then who shall gather in his 
harvest ? He is putting out the lights, and who shall guide 
them to Immanuers land ? God's gardens take a great 
deal of dressing ; and when dressers are taken away, what 
danger are vineyards in of becoming like the field of the 
slothful ? The loss of a guide in the way to heaven is not a 
small loss. God pulls out stakes in Zion's hedge, but few 
are put in to make up the gap. But while we obey the 
precept, c Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that 
he will send forth labourers into his harvest,' Lord, fulfil thy 
promise, ( I will give you pastors according to my heart, 
which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.' " 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 25. — On the seventh clay ye 
shall have an holy convocation ; ye shall do no servile 
work. 

A professional gentleman in Berkshire, whom God has 
made the instrument of very considerable good in the 
country, was first led seriously to embrace the gospel, from 



f4 NUMBERS XXX. 

a person's refusing to transact some urgent business with 
him on the Lord's day. 

Chap. xxix. ver. 35. — Ye shall do no servile work 
therein. 

When his Majesty George III. was repairing his palace 
at Kew, one of the workmen, who was a pious character, 
was particularly noticed by the King, and he often held 
conversations with him of some length upon serious subjects. 
On Monday morning, his Majesty w r ent as usual to watch 
the progress of the work, and not seeing this man in his 
customary place, inquired the reason of his absence. The 
King was informed that, not having been able to complete 
a particular job on the Saturday night, they had returned 
to finish it on the following morning. This man alone had 
refused to comply, because he considered it a violation of 
the Christian Sabbath ; and, in consequence of what was 
called his obstinacy, he had been dismissed from his em- 
ployment. " Call him back immediately,*' exclaimed the 
good king ; cc the man who refused doing his ordinary work 
on the Lord's day, is the man for me. Let him be sent 
for." The man was accordingly replaced, and the king 
ever after showed him particular favour. 

Chap. xxx. ver. 2. — If a man vow a vow unto the 
Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond ; 
he shall not break his word, he shall do according to 
all that proceedeth out of his month. 

The stage was crowded with passengers as it passed from 
New York to Boston. It w T as late in the evening when one 
of the passengers, a sea captain, endeavoured to excite the 
attention of the drowsy company, by giving a relation of his 
own circumstances. He had been at sea in a fine ship ; in 
a dreadful storm his ship had been wrecked, his money and 
property all destroyed, and every soul on board had been 
lost, except himself, who had saved his life by being on a 
plank, at the mercy of the waves, for several days together. 
The company were interested in this narrative ; they pitied 
the poor unfortunate captain, who was returning home to 
his family entirely destitute ; but they wondered that a man 
relating such a tale, and telling of an escape almost miracu- 
lous, should confirm almost every sentence with an oath. 
Nothing, however, was said to him. In the morning, when 



NUMBERS XXXI* 75 

he stage stopped, Mr B., one of the passengers, invited the 
captain to walk on before with him, designing to step into 
the stage when it should come up. The proposal was agreed 
to, and they walked on alone. Mr B. said, " Did I under- 
stand you last night — the stage made much noise — did you 
say that you had lost your ship ?" " Yes." " That you 
saved your life on a plank ?" " Yes." " Let me ask you 
one more question ; — when on that plank, did you not vow 
to your God, that if he would spare your life, you would 
devote that life to his service V " None of your business," 
said the captain angrily. The stage by this time came up, 
and they entered it. Towards evening, as the stage was 
entering Providence, the captain informed the company that 
he should not sup with them, as he was so unfortunate as 
not to have any money. Mr B. took from his pocket, and 
offered him a handsome bill. " No," said the captain, " I 
am poor, yet I am no beggar." " But," replied Mr B., 
* c I do not give it to you as to a beggar, but as to an un-. 
fortunate brother. You must learn that I profess to be a 
Christian, and I am taught by my religion to do good unto 
all men. The gospel prescribes no limits to benevolence ; 
it teaches us to do good to all," The company applauded, 
and pressed the captain to take the money. He silently 
put it into his pocket, without even thanking the donor ; 
though his countenance betrayed uneasiness. The company 
supped together, and the captain bid each adieu, after hav- 
ing asked Mr B. when he left the town. He was informed, 
on the morrow at sunrise. They then parted. The captain 
went home with a heavy heart, while Mr B. retired to rest. 
He was surprised, the next morning at day -light, to hear 
some one rap at the door. He opened it, and beheld the 
captain standing before him in tears. The captain, press- 
ing his hand, said, " Sir, I have not slept a wink since I 
saw you ; I abused you yesterday ; I am now come to ask 
your paTdon. I did, while on that plank, vow to God, that 
I would live differently from v/hat I ever had done ; and, 
by God's help, from this time forward, I am determined to 
do so." The captain could not proceed ; they pressed each 
other's hands, and parted, probably to meet no more in this 
world. 

^ Chap. xxxi. ver. 50. — We have brought an obla- 
tion for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of 



?6 NUMBERS XXXII. 

jewels, of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, ear-rings, 
and tablets. 

A minister, preaching for a Missionary Society, remarked, 
in the course of the sermon, that " if the ladies who came 
out of Egypt, could give their golden trinkets to Aaron, to 
make a calf for the support of idolatry, surely christian 
ladies would not deem it a great sacrifice to give up some of 
their trinkets, for the noble and benevolent cause of diffusing 
among the heathen the unsearchable riches of Christ." The 
next morning a box was sent, by an unknown lady, contain- 
ing an amber necklace, a pair of gold ear-rings, and a dia- 
mond ring, as a present to the Missionary Society. 

Chap, xxxii. ver. 23. — Be sure your sin will find 
you out. 

" I was once applied to," says the late Mr English of 
Wooburn, in his diary, " by a stranger, in a place where I 
was labouring for a few Sabbaths only, for a sight of a letter 
which I had received calumniating his character. J looked 
at the man and pitied him, and coolly replied, ' It would be 
a breach of the common principles of society, to show con- 
fidential letters written to us for the purpose of our doing 
people good.' He retorted in an angry tone, c I demand a 
sight of it, Sir, as an act of justice due to an injured man.' 
I replied, c How did you know that I had received a letter 
concerning you ?' c Know,' said he, fc it was impossible not 
to know it, your language and manner were so pointed, that 
it was impossible I should be deceived !' I rejoined, *■ Do 
not be too positive : you have been deceived before now, I 
suppose ; you maybe so again.' 6 It is not possible,' said 
he, e you described the sin of which I am accused in the 
clearest language, and looking me in the face, and pointing 
towards me, you said, sinner, be sure your sin will find you 
out : I therefore expect from you, Sir, as a gentleman and 
a christian minister, that you will give me a sight of the 
letter, that I may know its contents and repel its charge.' 
I observed, i I do not know your name ; to my knowledge 
I never saw you before ; and as you have not told me in 
what part of the sermon it was I was so pointed, if I show 
you any letter I may show you the wrong one ; I shall, 
therefore, certainly not exhibit any of my letters to you, nor 
satisfy you whether I have received any one about you, till 






LUMBERS XXXIII. 77 

you describe the case alluded to.' He hesitated, but after- 
wards described the sin of which he was accused. When 
he had finished, looking him full in his eyes, assuming a 
solemn attitude, and using a grave and serious tone of voice, 
I said, — c Can you look me fall in the face, as you must 
your Judge at the great day of God, and declare that you are 
innocent of this sin laid to your charge ?' He trembled, 
turned pale, and his voice faultered ; guilt and anger 
struggling in his breast, like the fire in the bowels of Mount 
Etna, and, summoning up his remaining courage, he said, 
— c I am not bound to make any man my confessor ; and, 
if I were guilty, no man has a right to hold me up to public 
observation, as you have dene.' I assumed a benignity of 
countenance, and softened my tone, saying, — ' Do you be- 
lieve the passage T cited — Be sure your sin will find you 
out— is the word of God ?' He said.— < It may be.' 
{ Surely it is,' said I ; c he that made the ear, shall he not 
hear ? he that made the eye, shall he not see ? Can he 
have any difficulty in bringing your sin to light ? — Now I 
will tell you honestly, I never received any letter or infor- 
mation about you whatever, but I am persuaded your sin 
has found you out ; the preaching of the word is one me- 
thod by which God makes men's sins find them out. Let 
me entreat you seriously to consider your state and charac- 
ter ; who can tell, God may have intended this sermon for 
your good ; he may mean to have mercy on you ; this may 
be the means of saving your neck from the gallows, and 
your soul from hell ; but let me remind you, you are net 
there yet, there still is hope.' He held down his head, 
clenched his hands one into the other, and bursting into 
tears, said, — c I never met with any thing like this — I am 
certainly obliged to you for your friendship— I am guilty ; 
and hope this conversation will be of essential advantage to 
me!"' 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 1. — These are the journeys of 
the children of Israel. 

Pitts, an eastern traveller, in describing his return from 
Mecca, says, — " The first day we set out from Mecca, it 
was without any order at all ; but the next day every one 
laboured to get forward ; and in order to it, there was many 
times much quarrelling and fighting. But after every one 
had taken his place in the caravan, they orderly and peace- 
G 2 



/o NUMBERS XXXIV, 

ably kept the same place till they came to Grand Calm, 
They travel four camels a-breast, which are all tied one 
after the other, like as in teams. The whole body is called 
a caravan, which is divided into several cotters, or companies, 
each of which has its name, and consists, it may be, of 
several thousand camels ; and they move, one cotter after 
another, like distinct troops. In the head of each cotter is 
some great gentleman, or officer, who is carried in a thing 
like a horse-litter. In the head of every cotter there goes 
likewise a sumpter camel, which carries his treasure. This 
camel has two bells, about the bigness of our market bells, 
hanging one on each side, the sound of which may be heard 
a great way off. Some others of the camels have round 
bells about their necks, some about their legs, like those 
which our carriers put about their fore-horses' necks ; which, 
together with the servants, (who belong to the camels, and 
travel on foot,) singing all night, make a pleasant noise ; 
and the journey passes away delightfully. They say the 
music makes the camels brisk and lively. Thus they travel 
in good order every day, till they come to Grand Cairo ; 
and were it not for this order, you may guess what confusion 
would be among such a vast multitude. They have lights 
by night (which is the chief time of travelling, because of 
the exceeding heat of the sun by day,) which are carried on 
the tops of high poles to direct the hagies, or pilgrims, in 
their march," 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 12. — The goings out of it shall 
be at the salt sea. 

A late traveller, to whose unpublished journal Dr Russell 
repeatedly refers in his Description of Palestine, remarks 
that the Lake of Sodom, when he visited it, was sunk or 
hollow, and that the banks had been recently under water, 
being still very miry and difficult to pass. The shores were 
covered with dry wood, some of it good timber, which they 
say is brought by the Jordan from the country of the Druses. 
" The water is pungently salt, like oxymuriate of soda. It is 

incredibly buoyant. G— bathed in it, and when he lay 

still on his back or face, he floated with one-fourth at least 
of his whole body above the water. He described the sen- 
sation as extraordinary, and more like lying on a feather-bed 
than floating on water. On the other hand, he found the 
greatest resistance in attempting to move through it ; it 






NUMBERS XXXVI. 79 

smarted his eyes excessively. I put a piece of stick in, it 
required a good deal of pressure to make it sink, and when 
let go, it bounded out again like a blown bladder. The 
water is clear and of a yellowish tinge, which might be from 
the colour of the stones at bottom, or from the hazy atmo- 
sphere. There were green shrubs down to the water's edge 
in one place, and nothing to give an idea of any thing blast- 
ing in the neighbourhood of the sea ; the desert character of 
the soil extending far beyond the possibility of being affect- 
ed by its influence." 

Chap. xxxv. ver. 31. — Moreover, ye shall take no 
satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty 
of death, but he shall be surely put to death. 

In a letter from Lord Seaforth, Governor of Barbadoes, 
to Lord Hobart, dated March 18, 1802, his Lordship says, 
" You will observe in the last day's proceedings of the As- 
sembly, that the majesty of the House had taken consider- 
able offence at a message of mine, recommending an act to 
be passed to make the murder of a slave felony. At present, 
the fine for the crime is only £ 15. A committee of the 
whole house was hereupon appointed to prepare an answer 
to the Governor's message, which should be 4 moderate and 
respectful, but calculated to repel insult, evinces that the 
house understands its interests, and asserts its rights.' 
' Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be 
shed,' saith the law of God, in Gen. ix. 6. — < Whoso shed- 
deth the blood of a negro,' saith the law of Barbadoes, 
( shall pay £ 15 ;' — and the humane legislators resent the 
proposal of rendering murder felony : they understand their 
interest and their rights too well to conform to the law of 
God !" 

Chap, xxxvi. ver. 6. — Let them marry to whom 
they think best ; only to the family of the tribe of 
their fathers shall they marry. 

Mr Philip Henry used to give two advices, both to his 
children and others, in reference to marriages. One was, 
" Keep within the bounds of profession." The other was, 
" Look at suitableness in age, quality, education, temper," 
&c. He used to observe, from Gen. ii. 18, "I will make 
him a help-meet for him ;" that where there is not meet- 
ne&s, there will not be much help. He commonly said to 



80 DEUTERONOMY I. 

his children, with reference to their choice in marriage, 
w Please God, and please yourselves, and you shall never 
displease me ;" and greatly blamed those parents who con- 
clude matches for their children without their consent. He 
sometimes mentioned the saying of a pious gentlewoman, 
who had many daughters — " The care of most people is 
how to get good husbands for their daughters ; but my care 
is to fit my daughters to be good wives, and then let God 
provide for them." 



DEUTERONOMY. 



s in 



Chap. i. ver. 17. — Ye shall not respect persons 
judgment — ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, 
for the judgment is God's. 

During Colonel Gardiner's residence at Bankton, the 
Commander of the King's forces, with several colonels and 
gentlemen of rank, one day dined with him. When the 
company assembled, he addressed them with a great deal of 
respect, and yet with a very frank and determined air, and 
told them that he had the honour in that district to be a 
Justice of the Peace, and, consequently, that he was sworn 
to put the laws in execution, and, among the rest, those 
against swearing ; that he could not execute upon others 
with any confidence, or approve himself as a man of im- 
partiality and integrity to his own heart, if he suffered them 
to be broken in his presence by persons of any rank what- 
ever ; and that, therefore, he entreated all the gentlemen 
who then honoured him with their company, that they 
would please to be on their guard ; and that if any oath or 
curse should escape them, he hoped they would consider 
his legal animadversion upon it as a regard to the duties of 
his office, and dictates of his conscience, and not as any 
want of deference to them. The commanding officer im- 
mediately supported him in this declaration, as entirely be- 
coming the station in which he was, assuring him he would 
be ready to pay the penalty if he inadvertently transgressed ; 
and when Colonel Gardiner on any occasion stepped out of 
the room, he himself undertook to be the guardian of the 
law in his absence ; and, as one of the inferior officers 



DEUTERONOMY III. 81 

offended during this time, he informed the Colonel, so that 
the fine was exacted and given to the poor, with the appro- 
bation of the company. 

Chap. ii. ver. 7. — These forty years the Lord thy 
God hath been with thee ; thou hast lacked nothing. 

A pious minister in England relates, in a letter to a 
friend, that, being at one time in great want of money, and 
knowing not to whom he should apply for aid, he betook 
himself to prayer, committing his case to the Lord, and 
seeking direction from him. In a day or two after, a ser- 
vant called, telling him, that a gentleman wished him to 

dine with him at N . The gentleman had come from 

B , after his marriage, to see the minister, as he had 

been formerly acquainted with him. He presented the 
minister with ten pounds, as a marriage present, which re- 
lieved him from his embarrassments, and rilled him with 
gratitude to God for so seasonable a supply of his wants. 

Chap. hi. ver. 17. — Jordan, and the coast thereof, 
from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even 
the salt sea. 

M. Chateaubriand, describing the present state of the 
valley, through which flows the Jordan, says, " Here and 
there stunted shrubs with difficulty vegetate upon this inani- 
mate tract ; their leaves are covered with salt, which has 
nourished them, and their bark has a smoky smell and 
taste. Instead of villages you perceive the ruins of a few 
towers. Through the middle of this valley flows a dis- 
coloured river, which reluctantly creeps towards the pesti- 
lential lake, by which it is engulphed. Its course amidst 
the sands can be distinguished only by the willows and the 
reeds that border it ; and the Arab lies in ambush among 
these reeds to attack the traveller, and to plunder the pil- 
grim — Such is the scene famous for the benedictions and 
curses of Heaven. This river is the Jordan ; this lake is 
the Dead Sea ; it appears brilliant, but the guilty cities 
entombed in its bosom seem to have poisoned its waters. 
Its solitary abysses cannot afford nourishment to any living 
creature ; never did vessel cut its waves ; its shores are 
without birds, without trees, without verdure ; and its waters 
excessively bitter, and so heavy, that the most impetuous 
winds can scarcely ruffle their surface. " 



82 DEUTERONOMY IV. 

Chap. iv. ver. 6. — Keep therefore, and do them ; 
for this is your wisdom and your understanding in 
the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these 
statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise 
and understanding people. 

i " About twenty years ago," says one, "passing the 
house where Thomas Paine boarded, the low window was 
open, and seeing him sitting close by, I stepped in. Seven 
or eight of his friends were present, whose doubts and his 
own he was labouring to remove, by a long talk about the 
story of Joshua commanding the sun and moon to stand 
still; and concluded by denouncing the Bible as the worst 
of books, and that it had occasioned more mischief and 
bloodshed than any book ever printed, and was believed 
only by fools and knaves. Here he paused ; and while he 
was replenishing his tumbler with his favourite brandy and 
water, a person asked Mr Paine if he ever was in Scotland ? 
The answer was, c Yes.' c So have I,' continued the 
speaker ; c and the Scotch are the greatest bigots about the 
Bible I ever met ; — it is their school-book, their houses and 
churches are furnished with Bibles, and if they travel but 
a few miles from home, their Bible is always their com- 
panion ; yet, in no other country where I have travelled, 
have I seen the people so comfortable and happy. Their 
poor are not in such abject poverty as I have seen in other 
countries. By their bigoted custom of going to church on 
Sundays, they save the wages which they earn through the 
week, which, in other countries that I have visited, are 
generally spent by mechanics, and other young men, in 
taverns and frolics, on Sundays ; and of all the foreigners 
who land on our shores, none are so much sought after for 
servants, and to fill places where trust is reposed, as the 
Scotch. You rarely find them in taverns, the watch-house, 
alms-house, bridewell, or prison. Now, if the Bible is so 
bad a book, those who use it most would be the worst of 
people ; but the reverse is the case.' This was a sort of 
argument Paine was not prepared to answer, and an histori. 
cal fact which could not be denied ; — so, without saying i 
word, he lifted a candle from the table and walked up stairs. 
His disciples slipped out one by one, and left the speaker 
and myself to enjoy the scene." 



DEUTERONOMY VI. 83 

Chap. v. ver. 16. — Honour thy father and thy 
mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. 

A boy about ten years of age having lost his father, and 
his mother being ill at an hospital, was sent to the work- 
house at Shrewsbury. He was set to work, that he might 
earn, as soon as possible, his own livelihood. He behaved 
well, and was diligent at his work. Very soon he had a 
little money given to him as a reward ; and he was told 
that he might do with it what he pleased. As soon as he 
had received it, he asked leave of his master to go and see 
his mother. He took the money with him, and gave it to 
her. It was not much, but it was all that he had to give ; 
and the disposition with which it was given was more com- 
forting to his mother than the value of the gift. 

Chap. vi. ver. 7. — Thou shalt teach them diligently 

unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou 

| sittest in thme house, and when thou walkest by 

f- the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou 

risest up. 

Of the late excellent Mrs Berry of Warminster, it is 
said, that her Sabbath evenings were employed in reading 
the Scriptures, and holding familiar dialogues with her 
three children. After hearing them repeat a short prayer, 
and one of Watts' little hymns for children, she seated them 
each on a separate chair, while with maternal simplicity 
and endearments, she heard and answered their questions, 
and proposed her own. Dismissing the two youngest to 
rest, the eldest (being now six years old) was retained up 
a little longer. With him it was her constant Sabbath- 
evening custom to kneel and pray. At these periods she 
forgot herself in endeavouring to interest her boy. She 
would begin with prayer for his father, who, at that mo- 
ment, was preaching to his people ; then she would pray 
for her children one by one. After mentioning their names, 
she either implored forgiveness for them, or expressed her 
gratitude that " the Great God had made them such good 
children." Taking this boy one day into the parlour where 
she usually performed these exercises, his father asked him, 
if his dear mother did not sometimes kneel with him and 
pray ? With eyes instantly filled with tears, the little dis- 
ciple artlessly replied, " Yes, father, mother used to kneel 



! 



84 DEUTERONOMY IX. 

at that chair, and hold my hand, and pray for father that 
he might do good, and for me, and Henry, and for little 
Mary, and for all of us." 

Chap. vii. ver. 22. — The Lord thy God shall put 
out those nations before thee by little and little : thou 
mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of 
the field increase upon thee. 

It is here supposed, that if Judea should be thinly 
peopled, the wild beasts would so multiply there as to ren 
der it dangerous to the inhabitants. Haynes, when de. 
scribing his arrival at Cana of Galilee, says, u The ap. 
proaching Cana, at the close of the day, as we did, is ai 
once terrifying and dangerous. The surrounding country 
swarms with wild beasts, such as tigers, leopards, jackals, 
&c, whose cries and howling, I doubt not, as it did me, 
would strike the boldest traveller, who had not been fre- 
quently in a like situation, with the deepest sense of hor- 
ror." The same traveller, giving an account of his visit 
to 3Iount Tabor, on the top of which he found many ruins, 
remarks, " I amused myself a considerable time in walking 
about the area, and creeping into several holes and subter- 
raneous caverns among the ruins. My guide perceiving me 
thus employed, told me I must be more cautious how I 
ventured into those places, for that he could assure me those 
holes and caverns were frequently resorted to by tigers in 
the day-time, to shelter them from the sun ; and therefore 
I might pay dear for gratifying my curiosity." 

Chap. viii. ver. 15. — Wherein were fiery serpents 
and scorpions. 

An Emperor of Persia, who designed to go on a journey 
into Media, durst not proceed on account of the vast quan- 
tity of scorpions that were lying about the road. He sent 
a great number of stout fellows to destroy those terrible crea- 
tures, promising a superior reward to him who killed most. 
Till this execution was over, he durst not venture his dig- 
nified person abroad. 

Chap. ix. ver. 12. — They have made them a molten 
image. 

A boy who came to school in India, and was instructed 
in the doctrines and precepts of religion, was one day or- 



DEUTEEONOMY XII. 85 

dered by his parents to worship an image they had lately 
bought. The boy knew, however, that it was sinful, and 
■ refused to do so. He patiently endured a great deal of ill 
treatment ; but his parents seeing, at length, that he was 
dutiful in all other respects, did not any longer require him 
to worship their image. 

Chap. x. ver. 19. — Love ye therefore strangers; 
for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 

Haynes informs us, that having arrived at Nazareth, the 
end of December, about five in the evening, upon entering 
the town, he and his party saw two women filling their 
pitchers with water at a fountain he had described, and 
about twelve others waiting for the same purpose, whom 
they desired to pour some into a trough which stood by, 
that their horses might drink. They had no sooner made 
the request than the women complied, and filled the trough, 
and the others waited with the greatest patience. Upon 
the travellers returning their thanks, one of the women, with 
great modesty, replied, " We consider kindness and hospi- 
tality to strangers as an essential part of our duty." 

Chap. xi. ver. 19. — Ye shall teach them yonr chil- 
dren, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine 
house. 

In Iceland, a custom prevails among the people, of spend* 
ing their long evenings in a manner which must powerfully 
tend to promote their religious improvement. The whole 
family assembles at dusk, and around the lamp, every one 
except the reader having some kind of work to perform. 
The reader is frequently interrupted, either by the head, or 
some of the most intelligent members of the family, who 
make remarks on various parts of the story, and propose 
questions with a view to exercise the ingenuity of the chil- 
dren and servants. In this form of exercise the Bible is 
preferred to every other book. At the conclusion of the 
labour a prayer is offered, and the exercise is concluded 
with a psalm. Their morning devotions are conducted in 
a similar manner at the lamp. What great opportunity for 
religious instruction of youth I 

Chap. xii. ver. 32. — What thing soever I command 
you, observe to do it : thou shalt not add thereto, nor 
diminish from it. 



86 DEUTERONOMY" XIV. 

As the second commandment so expressly forbids the 
use of images in the worship of God, the Roman Catholics 
omit it in their catechisms and books of devotion, and 
divide the tenth into two. The Rev. 3Ir Temple, one of 
the American missionaries at 3Ialta, relates the following 
fact : — " My teacher, a native of Italy, came into my room 
one morning, and took up a tract then lying on the table, 
and immediately cast his eyes upon the Ten Command-- 
mentSj which I had inserted at the end. As soon as he 
had read the second commandment, he confessed much 
astonishment, and asked whether this was part of the deca- 
logue. I immediately showed him this commandment in 
Archbishop Martini's Italian translation of the Latin Vul- 
gate. He could not suppress his feelings of surprise on 
reading this in the Italian Bible, and in a version, too, 
authorised by the Pope. c I have lived,' said he, ' fifty 
years ; have been publicly educated in Italy : have had the 
command of a regiment of men, and fought in many cam- 
paigns ; but, till this hour, I never knew that such a com- 
mandment as this is written in the pages of the Bible.' " 

Chap. xhi. ver. 17. — There sliall cleave nought of 
the cursed thing to thine hand. 

On one occasion, when the converted natives of Huahine, 
in the South Sea, and the idolatrous party, were about to 
engage in battle, two leaders of the christian party made' 
an offer of peace. They said, " You must soon fall into 
our hands, or we must soon fall into yours ; but, if you 
will lay down your arms now, we will be friends with you." 
The other party answered, u We will have peace ; we will 
not fight for those false gods any more ; we will submit to 
the true God !" Peace was concluded ; a fire was lighted, 
and the image of Tani, their god, was thrown into the 
flames, and burnt to ashes before the eyes of both parties. 
His house was immediately consumed, and his marae, or 
temple, destroyed. A leader among the converts being 
congratulated on having been the instrument of accomplish- 
ing so great a deliverance of his nation from the thraldom 
of Satan, he replied, with much emotion, u All my fore- 
fathers worshipped Tani : where are they now ? It is my 
mercy to live in better days." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 6. — Every beast that parteth the 



DEUTERONOMY XVI. 87 

hoof, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that ye 
shall eat. 

Chewing the cud has often been referred to as emblema- 
tical of meditation, or the digesting of our spiritual food. 
Mr Philip Henry notes in his diary the saying of a pious 
hearer of his own, as what much affected him : — " I find it 
easier," said the good man, " to go six miles to hear a ser- 
mon, than to spend one quarter of an hour in meditating 
and praying over it in secret, as I should, when I come 
home." 

Chap. xv. ver. 18. — It shall not seem hard unto 
thee when thou sendest him away from thee. 

Some years ago, a respectable gentleman, residing a few 
miles from New York, actuated by truly christian feelings, 
gave a negro and his wife, formerly his slaves, their liberty. 
This important instrument of writing being prepared and 
executed in the presence of several ladies and gentlemen, 
was delivered to the slave ; who, after a solemn pause, in 
broken accents, though in language which conveyed the 
genuine sentiments of his heart, addressed his benefactors 
in substance as follows : — " Master and mistress, T thank 
you for your goodness to me this day. I am a poor African, 
therefore make allowance for my want of words to express 
my joy at this great deliverance. As Peter said to the 
lame man when he healed him, so say I unto you — c Silver 
and gold have I none, but such as I have I give unto thee.' 
May the blessing of the Lord be your reward — may he re- 
lieve your souls from the bondage of sin and death, as you 
this day have relieved me from the bonds of slavery — may 
the blessing of God rest on the heads of your children, and 
upon your children's children." It was enough ; — every 
heart at the moment felt that keen sensibility which the 
unexpected address of the free black excited. All was 
silence — unaffected tears flowed from every eye. The bene- 
fit of the same praiseworthy action was experienced by the 
wife of this happy African. By the piety of his conduct, 
during a course of years, he has given evidence that he en- 
joys that liberty wherewith Christ makes his people free. 

Chap. xvi. ver. 20. — That which is altogether just 
shalt thou follow. 

Mr Ellis relates, that two principal chiefs walking by the 






&8 DEUTERONOMY XVII. 

sea-side, came to a place where a fisherman had been sharp- 
ening his hooks, but had forgotten his file, which, in the 
estimation of the natives, is an article of considerable value. 
As the fisherman had retired from the place, and was total- 
ly unknown to the chiefs, they picked up the file, and went 
on their way. They had not proceeded far before one of 
them, reflecting on the circumstance, said to the other, 
" This is not our file ; and is not our taking it theft ?" 
" Perhaps it is," replied the other, "yet as the real owner 
is unknown, I do not know who has a better right to it 
than ourselves." " I am satisfied," rejoined his compa- 
nion, " that it is not ours, and therefore think we had better 
give it away." To this the other consented, and the file 
was given to the first man they met, accompanied with its 
little history, and a strict injunction, that inquiry should 
be made after the proprietor, to whom it should be given if 
he could be discovered ; if not, it was to become his own 
property. 

Cliap. xvh. ver. 3. — Hatli worshipped — either the 
sun or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I 
have not commanded. 

The gospel having spread into Persia, the Pagan priests, 
who worshipped the sun, persuaded the Emperor Sapor to 
persecute the Christians in all parts of his empire. Many 
eminent persons in the Church and State fell martyrs : 
even thousands were put to death for not worshipping the 
sun. Usthazares, tutor to the Persian princes, was a Chris- 
tian. Sapor sent for him, and asked him, " Why he 
mourned ?" He answered, " O King, this grieves me, 
that I am this day alive, who should rather have died long 
since, and that I see this sun, which, against my heart and 
mind, for your pleasure, dissemblingly I appear to wor- 
ship ; but I will never be so mad again, as, instead of the 
Maker of all things, to worship the things which he hath 
made." When he was carried away to be beheaded, he 
desired the King, that for all the faithful services he had 
done to his father and to him, he would now cause to be 
proclaimed openly, that Usthazares was beheaded, not for 
any treachery or crime committed against the King or 
realm, but only because he was a Christian, and would not, 
at the King's pleasure, deny his God. This request was 



DEUTERONOMY XX. 89 

granted, and many were established in Christianity at his 
death, as many had been staggered by his apostacy. 

Cliap. xviii. ver. 10, 11, 12. — There shall not be 
found among you — a charmer, or a consulter with 
familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For 
all that do these things are an abomination unto the 
Lord. 

A woman who lived in the county of Sussex, a few years 
since, having the ague, and hearing of a man who could 
charm it away, went to him : he gave her what he called a 
charm, which was a paper sewed up in a bag, which she 
was to wear round her neck, and never to open it, for if she 
did, he told her the complaint would return again. The 
disease was removed ; she continued to wear the bag till 
the end of four years, when she was stirred up to a concern 
about her soul, and was taught by the Spirit to see and to 
feel the exceeding sinfulness of sin. She then, for the first 
time, began to fear whether this charm was not the work of 
Satan. For many days she prayed to the Lord to teach 
her what she ought to do respecting it, and at last she saw 
it to be her duty to take it off; and opening it, found it 
thus written on the paper — Torment her not till she is in 
hell. The disease never returned. 

Chap. xix. ver. 16. — If a false witness rise up 
against any man, to testify against him that which is 
wrong, &c. 

A gentleman who had suffered much loss in his affairs 
by the malice of a person who lived in his vicinity, taught 
a parrot to pronounce, in a clear articulate voice, the Ninth 
Commandment, " Thou shalt not bear false witness against 
thy neighbour." He kept the bird hanging in a cage op- 
posite the informer's house, who, whenever he appeared, 
heard himself saluted with — " Thou shalt not bear false 
witness against thy neighbour." This exhortation being 
kept constantly ringing in his ears, became at last so annoy- 
ing to him, and amusing to every body else, that, to hide 
his disgrace, he was forced to remove to a distant part of 
the town. 

Chap. xx. ver. 20. — The trees which thou knowest 

H 2 



90 DEUTERONOMY XXI. 

that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy 
and cut them down. 

Formerly when the natives of Eimeo felled trees on the 
mountains, after lopping the branches, they paused, offered 
a prayer to one of their gods for a safe passage, and then 
launched the trunk down the side of the slope ; standing in 
silence, holding their breath, and with their eyes following 
its course till it reached the valley. Once when Mr Henry, 
missionary there, was assisting some of his people to procure 
timber for building the brig Hawes, having descended from 
the mountain to refresh himself at a brook which ran at the 
foot of it, he sat down on the bank, and was about to drink, 
but refrained in the instant, and removed about two yards 
off, where access to the water seemed more convenient. 
While drinking there, a tree, which had been felled above, 
came thundering down with such velocity and force, as 
scarcely to have been perceived by him before it had plung- 
ed with the fore end deep into the earth at the very spot 
from which he had just risen. He could not regard his 
escape as otherwise than strikingly providential. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 20. — This our son is stubborn and 
rebellious, he will not obey our voice. 

K T well remember," says a writer on christian educa- 
tion, " being much impressed by a sermon about twenty 
years ago, when I was a young father, in which the preacher 
said, were he to select one word as the most important in 
education, it should be the word obey. My experience 
since has fully convinced me of the justice of the remark. 
Without filial obedience every thing must go wrong. Is 
not a disobedient child guilty of a manifest breach of the 
Fifth Commandment ? And is not a parent, who suffers 
this disobedience to continue, an habitual partaker in his 
child's offence against that commandment ? By the dis- 
obedience of our first parents, sin came into the world ; 
and through the obedience of the second Adam are the 
gates of heaven opened to true believers. The wicked are 
emphatically styled the children of disobedience : and it is 
clearly the object of the divine plan of salvation to conquer 
the rebellious spirit of man, and to bring him into a state 
of humility and submission. Parental authority is one 
powerful instrument for effecting the change, It is intended 



DEUTERONOMY XXIV. 91 

to bend the stubborn will, and, by habituating a child to 
subjection to earthly parents, to prepare him for christian 
obedience to his heavenly Father. In proportion as filial 
obedience is calculated to smooth the way for true religion, 
filial disobedience must produce the opposite effect. The 
parent who habitually gives way to it, has appalling reason 
to apprehend that he is educating his child, not for heaven 
but for hell." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 4. — Thou shalt not see thy bro- 
thers ox or ass fall down by the way, and hide thy- 
self from them ; thou shalt surely help him to lift 
them up again. 

Mr George Herbert, the poet, when walking to Salis- 
bury, saw a poor man, with a poorer horse, fallen under his 
load. Mr Herbert perceiving this, put off his canonical 
coat, and helped the poor man to unload, and after to load 
his horse. The poor man blessed him for it, and he blessed 
the poor man, and gave him money to refresh both himself 
and his horse ; and told him, " If he loved himself, he 
should be merciful to his beast." At his coming to his 
musical friends at Salisbury, they began to wonder that Mr 
George Herbert, who used to be so clean, came in such a 
condition ; but he told them the occasion ; and when one 
of the company told him, " He had disparaged himself by 
so dirty an employment," his answer was, " That the 
thought of what he had done would prove music to him at 
midnight ; and the omission of it would have upbraided 
and made discord in his conscience, whensoever he should 
pass by the place." 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 24. — When thou comest into thy 
neighbour s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes 
thy fill at thine own pleasure. 

About twenty years ago, a land-owner of Patudupee, 
about fourteen miles from Calcutta, planted an orchard by 
a public road, placed a person to keep it, and dedicated it 
to the use of travellers of all descriptions, who are permit- 
ted to enter it, and take as much fruit as they can eat. 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 19. — It shall be for the stranger, 
for the fatherless, and for the widow ; that the Lord 
thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 



92 DEUIEROXOXLY XXVI. 

It is said of Sir Matthew Hale, that he frequently in- 
vited his poor neighbours to dinner, and made them sit at 
table with himself. If any of them were sick, so that they 
could not come, he sent provisions to them, wami from his 
own table. He did not confine his bounties to the poor of 
his own parish, but diffused supplies to the neighbouring 
parishes, as occasion required. He always treated the old, 
the needy, and the sick, with the tenderness and familiarity 
that became one who considered they were of the same na- 
ture with himself, and were reduced to no other necessities 
than such as he himself might be brought to. 

Chap. xxy. ver. 15. — A perfect and just measure 
slialt thou have. 

A linen merchant in Colerain, offered Dr Adam Clarke 
a situation in his warehouse, which he accepted with the 

consent of his parents. Mr B knew that his clerk and 

overseer was a religious man, but he was not sensible of 
the depth of the principle which actuated him. Some dif- 
ferences arose at times about the way of conducting the 
business, which were settled very amicably. But the time 

of the great Dublin market approached, and Mr B was 

busy preparing for it. The master and servant were to- 
gether in the folding-room, when one of the pieces was 
found short of the required number of yards. " Come," 

says Mr B , " it is but a trifle. We shall soon stretch 

it, and make out the yard. Come, Adam, take one end, 
and pull against me." Adam had neither ears nor heart 
for the proposal, and absolutely refused to touch what he 
thought an unclean thing. The usages of the trade were 
strougly and variously enforced, but in vain. The young 

man resolved rather to sutler than to sin. Mr B was 

therefore obliged to call one of his men less scrupulous, and 

Adam retired quietly to his desk. Soon after, Mr B , 

in the kindest manner, stated to him, that it was very clear 
he was not fit for worldly business, (why not ? if any were 
unfit, it must be the merchant himself,) and wished him to 
look out for some employment more congenial to his own 
mind ; adding, that he might depend on his friendship in 
any line of life into which he should enter. 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 13. — -I have brought away the 



DEUTERONOMY XXVIII. 93 

hallowed thing's out of mine house, and also have given 
them unto the Levite. 

" Sir," said a poor labouring man to a minister in a 
letter, " when you preached the missionary sermon last year, 
I was grieved that I had it not in my power to give what 
I wished. I thought and thought, and consulted my wife 
whether there was any thing which we could spare without 
stinting the poor children ; but it seemed that we lived as 
near as possible in every respect, and had nothing but what 
was absolutely necessary. At last it came into my mind, 
c Is that fourpence which goes every week for an ounce of 
tobacco absolutely necessary ?' I had been used to it so 
long, that I scarcely thought it possible to do without it, 
however 1 resolved to try ; so, instead of spending the 
fourpence, I dropped it into a box. The first week I felt 
it sorely, but the second week it was easier ; and in the 
course of a few weeks it was little or no sacrifice at all ; at 
least, I can say, that the pleasure far outweighed the sacri- 
fice. When my children found what I was doing, they 
wished to contribute also ; and if ever they got a penny or 
halfpenny given them for their own pleasure, it was sure to 
find its way into the box instead of the cake-shop. On 
opening the box, I have the pleasure to find that our col- 
lected pence amounted to one pound, which I now inclose, 
and pray, that the Lord may give his blessing with it." 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 24. — Cursed be he that smiteth 
his neighbour secretly. 

Some years ago, a man of the name of Cooper died in 
Gloucestershire. He had long endured great horror of 
mind ; and, about an hour previous to his death, he men- 
tioned the cause of it, which was, that, about forty years 
before, he had assisted another man, of the name of Horton, 
(who died two years antecedent to Cooper's death,) in mur- 
dering one Mr Rice, a surveyor of the roads, whose body 
they threw into a well, where it was soon after the fact 
found ; but the murderers were not known till now. — How 
many dreadful secrets will be revealed at the great day, 
when the Judge of all shall make inquisition for blood. 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 46. — Thy life shall hang in doubt 
before thee ; and thou shalt fear day and night, and 
shalt have none assurance of thy life. 



94? DEUTERONOMY XXIX.' 

A gentleman, who was for some years British Consul at 
Tripoli, mentioned some circumstances, which set, in a 
striking light, the state of fear and degradation in which 
the Jews there live. If the Bey has a fear or jealousy of 
any man, he sends some one to put a pistol to his head and 
shoot him. If it happen to be a Christian, remonstrance is 
made by the consul of his nation. The Bey is quite ready 
to give satisfaction ; he seuds some one to shoot the first 
agent of his cruelty ; and then, with an air of great regret, 
asks the Consul if he is satisfied ; if not, he is ready to give 
him satisfaction still farther. But if the object of his wrath 
be a Jew, none would think of demanding satisfaction for 
his death. This people feel the curse in full, that among 
the nations where they are scattered, they should find no 
ease, and have none assurance of their life. They are 
known by their being compelled to wear a particular dress, 
which they sometimes change in their houses, on occa- 
sion of their merry-makings ; but even in these they are 
not free, the Moors exercising the privilege of free ingress 
at any time. When a vessel comes into port, the merchant 
(a Mahometan) compels every Jew whom he meets by the 
way, to come and help in unlading, carrying, &c. ; nor do 
they dare to resist. 

Chap. xxix. ver. 17. — Ye have seen their abomina- 
tions, and their idols, wood and stone. 

In Baitenzorg, a village in the island of Java, there is a 
street nearly a mile long, inhabited solely by Chinese. 
Messrs. Tyerman and Bennet, the deputation from the Lon- 
don Missionary Society, called at several of their houses, 
and found in each an idol of some kind. " That which 
most surprised us," say they, " was a French engraving of 
the Emperor INapoleon Bonaparte, in a gilt frame, before 
which incense was burning ; and the old man, to whom 
the picture belonged, in our presence paid it divine ho- 
nours, bowing himself in various antic attitudes, and offer- 
ing a prayer for blessings on himself and family. When 
we asked him why he worshipped that as a god which came 
from Europe, and not from his own country, he frankly 
replied, c Oh, we worship any thing !' In this street are 
two temples, one a decent building under repair, the other 
an open shed, on a little mound, consisting of a slight 



DEUTERONOMY XXXII. Q5 

square roof, supported by four pillars. In this sanctuary are 
several mis-shapen stones, planted on their ends, to which 
prayers are daily made by beings (in that respect) as stupid 
as themselves. A cocoa-nut shell was placed in the midst 
of these blocks, containing some small offerings. We 
visited two other edifices of similar constructions, and con- 
secrated to gods of the same material as these, — namely, 
rude upright stones, which, it seems, the rude .Malays wor- 
ship with no less devotion than the shrewd Chinese." 

Chap. xxx. ver. 8, 9. — Tliou slialt return, and 
obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his command- 
ments : and the Lord thy God will make thee plen- 
teous in every work of thine hand. 

The late Admiral Colpoys, who rose, by industry, to the 
highest rank and honour in the profession, used to be fond 
of stating, that on first leaving an humble lodging to join 
his ship as a midshipman, his landlady presented him with 
a Bible and a guinea, saying, — u God bless and prosper 
you, my lad ; and as long as you live, never suffer your- 
self to be laughed out of your money and your prayers." 
This advice the young sailor sedulously followed through 
life to his great advantage. 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 6. — Be strong, and of good 
courage, fear not, nor he afraid of them : for the Lord 
thy God, he it is that doth go with thee ; he will not 
fail thee, nor forsake thee. 

Some of the Indian chiefs having become the open ene- 
mies of the gospel, Mr Elliot, sometimes called the Apostle 
of the American Indians, when in the wilderness, without 
the company of any other Englishman, was, at various 
times, treated in a threatening and barbarous manner hy 
some of those men ; yet his Almighty Protector inspired 
him with such resolution, that he said, — c I am about the 
work of the Great God, and my God is with me ; so that 
I fear neither you, nor all the Sachims (or chiefs) in the 
country. I will go on, and do you touch me if you dare." 
They heard him and shrunk away. 
& Chap, xxxii. ver. 11. — Do ye thus requite the 
" Lord, O foolish people and unwise ? is not he thy 
father that hath bought thee ? hath he not made thee, 
and established thee ? 



96 DEUTERONOMY XXXIII. 

A clergyman in Germany, who had exercised the minis- 
terial office for twelve years, while destitute of faith in, and 
love to the Redeemer, one day, after baptizing the child of 
a wealthy citizen, one of the members of his congregation, 
was invited with some other guests to a collation at this 
person's house. Directly opposite to him, on the wall, 
hung a picture of Christ on the cross, with two lines written 
under it :— - 

" I did this for thee; 
What hast thou done for me ?" 

The picture caught his attention ; as he read the lines they 
seemed to pierce him, and he was involuntarily seized with a 
feeling he never experienced before. Tears rushed into 
his eyes ; he said little to the company, and took his leave 
as soon as he could. On the way home these lines con- 
stantly sounded in his ears, — divine grace prevented all 
philosophical doubts and explanations from entering his 
soul, — he could do nothing but give himself up entirely to 
the overpowering feeling ; even during the night, in his 
dreams, the question stood always before his mind, u What 
hast thou done for me ?" He died in about three months 
after this remarkable and happy change in his temper and 
views, triumphing in the Saviour, and expressing his ad- 
miration of his redeeming love. 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 19. — They shall suck of the 
abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the 
sand. 

Among the hardships experienced by the first settlers in 
North America, they were sometimes greatly distressed for 
food, which led the women and the children to the sea side 
to look for a ship which they expected with provision, but 
no ship appeared for many weeks ; they saw in the sand, 
however, vast quantities of shell-fish, since called clams, a 
species of mussel. Hunger impelled them to taste, and at 
length they fed wholly upon them, and were as cheerful 
and well as they had been before in England, enjoying the 
best provision. It is added, that a good man, after they 
had all dined one day on clams, without bread, returned 
thanks to God for causing them to " suck of the abundance 
of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand." This text, 
which they had never before observed particularly, was ever 
after endeared to them. 



JOSHUA I. 97 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 5. — Moses the servant of the 
Lord, died there, in the land of Moab, according to 
the word of the Lord. 

Mrs Cooper, wife of Mr Cooper, late missionary in India, 
having gone to the Nilgherry hills for the benefit of her 
health, after her arrival, appeared to be considerably re- 
lieved ; but the pleasing hope to which this gave rise, was 
ultimately disappointed. She died July 4, 1831, in the 
hope of a glorious and blessed immortality. " I feel I am 
fast going," she said, " and that in a little while all will 
be over. But, oh ! do not look so overwhelmed. When 
you look on my clay-cold cheek, think not of the grave and 
corruption ; but think of me as a redeemed saint in glory, 
and that will support you." " Such," says Mr Cooper, 
" were her words to me a few nights before her peaceful de- 
parture from this world to glory ; and I have endeavoured 
to act upon them, and calmly to commit her precious re- 
mains to the grave, in the assurance that her spirit rests 
with God, and her body, as a part of the Redeemer's pur- 
chase, will be raised in glory, when he comes to be glori- 
fied in his saints, and admired in all them that believe." 



JOSHUA. 



Chap. i. ver. 7. — Observe to do according to all the 
law which Moses my servant commanded thee : turn 
not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou 
mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 

Mr Kay, missionary in South Africa, was at one time 
addressing about a hundred and fifty of the natives. Hav- 
ing only his English pocket Testament with him, from 
which he usually translated into the vernacular tongue of 
the people, he asked whether any of them was able to read ; 
desiring, at the same time, to know whether they were in 
possession of a Dutch translation of the Scriptures ; on 
which a New Testament in that language was instantly 
produced. When he opened it, a small pamphlet fell out, 
which proved to be a copy of an ordinance issued by the 
late lieutenant-governor, in July 1828, for the improve- 
ment of the condition of the Hottentots* and other free 
i 



98 JOSHUA III. 

persons of colour; and for consolidating and amending the 
laws affecting those persons, agreeably to the recommenda- 
tions of his Majesty's commissioners of inquiry. This do- 
cument was carefully inserted between the pages of the 
sacred volume, u Because," said they, M God's word forms 
the basis on which all good laws are grounded." 

Chap. ii. ver. 7- — The men pursued after them the 
way to Jordan unto the fords. 

Mr Ruggles, one of the American missionaries in the 
South Sea Islands, related the following anecdote respect- 
ing his father, who was a minister of the gospel. — One day, 
while he was preaching, a party of Indians came suddenly 
upon the congregation, scattered them, and carried him 
away into the forest. At night he was left under the charge 
of two women, while the men went to rest ; but his female 
keepers, as well as the faithful dogs, falling asleep also, he 
took the opportunity to make his escape. He had not fled 
far before he heard the alarm-cry, and the crashing of the 
bushes behind warned him that the enemy were already in 
close pursuit of him. In his distress he crept, with little 
hope of safety, into a hollow tree, at whose feet there hap- 
pened to be an opening through which he could squeeze his 
body, and stand upright within. The Indians soon rushed 
by in full chase, without stopping to search his retreat, and 
what is more extraordinary, their dogs had previously 
smelled about the root of the tree, and ran forward without 
barking, as they had discovered nothing. 

Chap. hi. ver. 1. — Joshua rose early in the morning. 

Frederick II. King of Prussia, used to rise early ; and 
he gave strict orders to his attendants never to suffer him 
to sleep longer than four o'clock in the morning, and to 
pay no attention to his unwillingness to rise. One morn- 
ing, at the appointed time, the page whose turn it was to 
attend him, and who had been long in his service, came to 
his bed and awoke him. u Let me sleep but a little longer," 
said the monarch ; " I am still much fatigued." u Your 
majesty has given positive orders I should wake you so 
early," replied the page. "But another quarter of an hour 
more." " Not one minute," said the page ; " it has struck 
four ; I am ordered to insist upon your majesty's rising." 



JOSHUA VII. 99 

" Well," said the king, " you are a brave lad ; had you 
let me sleep on, you would have fared ill for your neglect." 

Chap. iv. ver. 21, 22. — When your children shall 
ask their fathers hi time to come, saving, What mean 
these things ? — Then ye shall let your children know, 
saying, Israel came over Jordan on dry land. 

The secretary of the American Education Society, visit- 
ing Dr Payson, shortly before his death, asked for a mes- 
sage which he might carry from him to beneficiaries, when he 
received the following impromptu : — " What if God should 
place in your hand a diamond, and tell you to inscribe on 
it a sentence which should be read at the last day, and 
shown there as an index of your own thoughts and feelings, 
what care, what caution would you exercise in the selection ! 
Now this is what God has done. He has placed before 
you immortal minds, more imperishable than the diamond, 
on which you are about to inscribe every day and every 
hour, by your instructions, by your spirit, or by your ex- 
' ample, something which will remain and be exhibited for 
or against you at the judgment-day." 

Chap. v. ver. 13. — Art thou for us, or for our ad- 
; versaries? 

A plain, honest Christian, on being called, by a profli- 
gate worldling, " a Methodist," replied, " Sir, whether you 
are aware of it or not, you are equally a Methodist with 
myself." " How ? how ?" rejoined the scoffer, with many 
oaths. cc Pray, be calm," said the other, " there are but 
two methods, the method of salvation, and the method of 
damnation ; in one of these you certainly are ; in which, I 

- leave with you to decide. 1 ' The scoffer was silenced. 

i 

Chap. vi. ver. 18. — In any wise keep yourselves 
from the accursed thing. 

Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, who died in the 
beginning of the twelfth century, said, " If I should see 
the shame of sin on the one hand, and the pain of hell on 
the other, and must, of necessity, choose one, I would rather 
be thrust into hell without sin, than go into heaven with 
sin." 

Chap. vii. ver. 21. — When I saw among the spoils 



3 00 JOSHUA IX. 

a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred 
shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels 
weight, then I coveted them, and took them. 

et As I stood one day by Mr Jeffreys/' says Mrs Jeffreys 
in her Journal, " catechising the children, I asked them 
which of the commandments was most difficult to observe ? 
One, after a long pause, mentioned one, and another a dif- 
ferent precept ; till, at last, a boy about twelve years old, 
said, ' The last is the hardest.' Mr Jeffreys said, ( Why 
is it so, my boy ?' He replied, 6 Because, for one who is 
poor, to see another possessing a great deal of money, a 
great deal of clothes, and much cattle and rice, without 
wishing for some of them, is very hard ; I think no person 
can keep this commandment.' " 

Chap. viii. ver. 85. — There w T as not a word of all 
that Moses commanded which Joshua read not before 
all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and 
the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant 
among them. 

Queen Elizabeth, on the morning of her coronation, 
agreeably to the custom of releasing prisoners at the inau- 
guration of a prince, went to the chapel ; and in the great 
chamber, one of her courtiers, who was well known to her, 
presented her with a petition, and before a number of cour- 
tiers, besought her, — " That now this good time there 
might be four or rive principal prisoners more released ; 
those were the four evangelists and the apostle Paul, who 
had been long shut up in an unknown tongue, as it were in 
prison, so as they could not converse with the common 
people." The queen answered very gravely, " That it was 
best first to inquire of them whether they would be released 
or no." 

Chap. ix. ver. 19. — The princes said nnto the con- 
gregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord 
God of Israel : now therefore we may not touch them. 

John, King of France, left in England two of his sons as 
hostages for the payment of his ransom. One of them, the 
Duke of Anjou, tired of his confinement in the tower of 
London, escaped to France. His father, more generous, 
proposed instantly to take his place ; and when the princi- 



JOSHUA XI. 101 

pai officers of his court remonstrated against his taking that 
honourable but dangerous measure, he told them, " Why, 
I myself was permitted to come out of the same prison in 
which my son was, in consequence of the treaty of Bre- 
tagne, which he has violated by his flight. I hold myself 
not a free man, at present. I fly to my prison. I am en- 
gaged to do it by my word ; and if honour were banished 
from all the world, it should have an asylum in the breast 
of kings." The magnanimous monarch accordingly pro- 
ceeded to England, and became the second time a prisoner 
in the Tower of London, where he died in 1384. 

Chap. x. ver. 11. — The Lord cast down great stones 
from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died : 
they were more which died with hail-stones than they 
which the children of Israel slew with the sword. 

Albertus Aquensis relates, that when Baldwin I. in the 
time of the Crusades, was with his army in the mountains 
of Arabia, beyond the Dead Sea, they had to encounter 
with the greatest dangers, from a horrible hail, terrible ice, 
unheard-of rain and snow, which were such, that thirty of 
the foot died of cold. — u Something of this kind, I pre- 
sume," adds Harmer, " the Canaanites suffered in their 
flight from Joshua, in a mountainous part of Judea. But 
it must have been much more destructive to people that 
were fleeing before their enemies, than to those Albertus 
mentions ; as they doubtless had thrown away their clothes 
in part for the sake of expedition, dared not to stop for 
shelter, and were running along in a mountainous place, 
among precipices." 

Chap. xi. ver. 6. — The Lord said unto Joshua, Be 
not afraid because of them ; for to-morrow, about this 
time, I will deliver them up all slain before Israel. 

During the awful moments of preparation for the battle 
of Camperdown, Admiral Duncan called all his officers upon 
deck, and in their presence prostrated himself in prayer be- 
fore the God of Hosts,, committing himself and them, with 
the cause they maintained, to his sovereign protection, his 
family to his care, his soul and body to the disposal of his 
providence. Rising then from his knees, he gave command 
to make an attack, and achieved one of the most splendid 
victories in the annals of England, 
i2 



102 JOSHUA XIII. 

Cliap. xii. ver. 4. — Og was of the remnant of the 
giants. 

Ferdinand Magellan, when wintering with his crew in 
St Stephen's Bay, on the coast of Patagonia, South Ame- 
rica, is said, one day, to have seen approaching a man of 
great stature, dancing and singing, and putting dust upon 
his head, as they supposed, in token of peace. This over- 
ture for friendship was, by Magellan's command, quickly 
answered by the rest of his men ; and the giant approach- 
ing, testified every mark of astonishment and surprise- His 
face was broad, his colour brown, and painted over with a 
variety of tints ; each cheek had the resemblance of a heart 
drawn upon it ; his hair was approaching to whiteness ; he 
was clothed in skins, and armed with a bow. Being treated 
with kindness, and dismissed with some trifling presents, 
he soon returned with many more of the same stature ; two 
of whom the mariners decoyed on board. Nothing could 
be more gentle than they were in the beginning ; they con- 
sidered the fetters that were preparing for them as orna- 
ments, and played with them like children with their toys ; 
but when they found for what purpose they were intended, 
they instantly exerted their amazing strength^ and broke 
them in pieces with a very easy effort. 

Chap. xiii. ver. 1. — Thou art old and stricken in 
years, and there remains yet much land to be pos- 
sessed. 

When Mr John Elliot, from advanced age and infirmi- 
ties, was laid aside from his former employments, he some- 
times said, with an air peculiar to himself, u I wonder for 
what the Lord Jesus lets me live. He knows that now I 
can do nothing for him." — Speaking of his labours among 
the American Indians, he expressed himself thus : — " There 
is a cloud, a dark cloud, on the work of the gospel among 
the poor Indians. The Lord revive and prosper that work, 
and grant that it may live when I am dead. It is a work 
which I have been doing much about. But what have I 
said ? I recal that word. My doings ! Alas ! they have 
been poor, and small, and I will be the man that shall 
throw the first stone at them." He died in 1690, aged 
eighty, six. 



JOSHUA XVI. 103 

Chap. xiv. ver. 8. — I wholly followed the Lord 
my God. 

Mr Charles, an eminently pious minister at Bala, having 
previously spoken of " the single eye" which we should 
possess in all our concerns and proceedings, thus writes re- 
specting a party who were going to emigrate from North 
Wales to America : — " I hope that those you hinted at as 
intending to emigrate to America, possess this single eye. 
It will be of more use to them in steering their course 
across the Atlantic than the polar star ; and without it they 
had better eat barley-bread or oaten cakes on the barren 
rocks in Wales." 

Chap. xv. ver. 18. — Achsah lighted off her ass; 
and Caleb said unto her, What wonldest thou ? 

u The alighting of those that ride," says Harmer, " is 
considered in the East as an expression of deep respect ; so 
Dr Pococke tells us, that they are wont to descend from 
their asses in Egypt, when they come near some tombs 
there, and that Christians and Jews are obliged to submit 
to this. — So Hasselquist tells Linneus, in one of his letters 
to him, that Christians were obliged to alight from their 
asses in Egypt, when they met with commanders of the 
soldiers there. This he complains of as a bitter indignity ; 
but they that received the compliment, without doubt, re- 
quired it as a most pleasing piece of respect." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 10. — They drave not out the Ca- 
naanites that dwelt in Gezer. 

When the Romans, under Agricola, first carried their 
arms into the northern parts of Britain, they found it pos- 
sessed by the Caledonians, a fierce and warlike people. 
Notwithstanding every exertion, the Romans were never 
able to conquer these Caledonians ; they only retained, for 
a short time, small portions of their territories, which they 
occasionally invaded. The most northern boundary of the 
Roman Empire in Scotland, was a wall which the Em- 
peror Severus erected between the Friths of Forth and 
Clyde ; but this boundary the bravery of the Caledonians 
did not permit them long to preserve. At a subsequent 
period, Adrian, Emperor of the Romans, in order to pre- 
serve his conquests, erected a second wall between New- 
castle and Carlisle, which became the boundary of his 



104 JOSHUA XIX. 

empire ; and the country between these two walls was 
possessed alternately by the Romans and Caledonians. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 14. — I am a great people, foras- 
much as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto. 

From the rapidity with ^hich the population of the 
United States of America has hitherto increased, and is 
diffusing itself over the wide and fertile continent of which 
it is in possession, the most magnificent anticipations are 
formed by the Americans themselves of the future greatness 
of their nation. " Let us assume," say they, "what ap- 
pears highly probable, that the people of the United States 
will ultimately spread themselves over the whole North 
American continent west of the Mississippi, between the 
parallels 30° and 49°, as far as the Pacific Ocean. This 
will be found to add 1,800,000 square miles to the terri- 
tory east of the Mississippi, and, putting both together, the 
area of the United States, thus enlarged, will be 2,700,000 
square miles. A surface of such extent, if peopled to the 
density of Massachu setts, would contain two hundred mil- 
lions ; or if peopled to the density of Great Britain and 
Ireland, four hundred and thirty millions. If the popula- 
tion of the United States continue to multiply in the same 
proportion as hitherto, it is demonstrable that the two hun- 
dred millions, necessary to people this vast territory, will 
be produced within a century." 

Chap, xviii. ver. 3. — How long are ye slack to g 
to possess the land ? 

" In an affair of the highest consequence," says Mr 
Hervey, in one of his letters, " how negligent is the com- 
munity ; I mean, in the long expected reformation of the 
liturgy, in which, excellent as it is on the whole, there are 
some passages so justly exceptionable, that every bishop in 
the kingdom will tell you he wishes to have them expung- 
ed ; and yet, I know not for what political or timid reasons, 
it continues just as it did. Had our first reformers been 
thus indolent, we still had been Papists." 

Chap. xix. ver. 29. — The strong city Tyre. 

The destruction of old Tyre, which was situated on the 
continent of Phenicia, by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Ba- 
bylon — the dispersion of the inhabitants, and their flight 



JOSHUA XXI. 105 

by sea into other regions — the subsequent restoration of its 
commerce and wealth in that part of the city, or New Tyre, 
which was built on an island half a mile distant from the 
shore — the siege and destruction of this latter by Alex- 
ander the Great — the casting of the stones, and timber, and 
dust — the ruins of the old or continental city, into the 
water ; — yea, the scraping of her dust from off her, which 
were done by that conqueror, in forming a mound from the 
shore to the island in carrying on the siege of the new 
city — the smiting of the power in this latter in the sea by 
her capture, and the annihilation of her commerce — -the 
burning of the city — the slaughter of many of her inhabi- 
tants — and the selling of others into captivity, form the 
most prominent historical facts relative to Tyre, and are 
each the fulfilment of a prophecy. The destruction of the 
first city by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, took place 
in the year 573 before Christ ; the insular city began to 
flourish 70 years after, and its siege and capture took place 
330 years before the birth of the Saviour. 

Chap. xx. ver. 3. — The slayer that killeth any 
person unawares, and unwittingly, may flee thither. 

While William II., surnamed Rufus, was hunting in 
the New Forest, Hampshire, he was shot by an arrow that 
Sir Walter Tyrrel discharged at a deer, which, glancing 
from a tree, struck the King to the heart. He dropped 
dead instantly ; while the innocent author of his death, 
terrified at the accident, put spurs to his horse, hastened to 
the sea-shore, embarked for France, and joined the Crusade 
that was then setting out for Jerusalem. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 45. — There failed not ought of any 
good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the 
house of Israel : all came to pass. 

Mr Cecil, during a severe illness, said to a parson who 
spoke of it, " It is all Christ. I keep death in view. If 
God does not please to raise me up, he intends me better. 
' I know whom I have believed.' How little do we think 
of improving the time while we have opportunity ! I find 
every thing but religion only vanity. — To recollect a pro- 
mise of the Bible : this is substance ! Nothing will do 
but the Bible. If I read authors, and hear different 
opinions, I cannot say this is truth ! I cannot grasp it as 



106 JOSHUA XXIII. 

substance ; but the Bible gives me something to hold. I 
have learned more within these curtains, than from all the 
books I ever read." 

Cliap. xxii. ver. 8. — Return with much riches 
unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with 
silver and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, 
and with very much raiment : divide the spoil of 
your enemies with your brethren. 

In September 1801, W. T. M., Esq,, departed this life ; 
and, dying without a will, his large property, which was 
chiefly landed estate, devolved to his eldest son. By this 
circumstance, the eight younger children were unprovided 
for ; but this gentleman, with a generosity seldom equalled, 
but which does honour to Christianity, immediately made 
over to his younger brother and sisters three considerable 
estates (it is said of the value of ten thousand pounds), 
which were about two-thirds of the whole property. This 
munificence is the more extraordinary, as he had a young 
and increasing family of his own. On a friend's remon- 
strating with him on his conduct, his answer was, Ci I have 
enough ; and am determined that all my brothers and sisters 
shall be satisfied." 

Chap, xxiii. yer. 12, 1-3. — If ye make marriages 
with them — they shall be snares and traps unto you, 
and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes. 

The Rev. S. Kilpin of Exeter had been preaching on the 
subject of marriage, and pointing out the evil of improper 
connections. A gentleman called on him next day to thank 
him for the discourse, adding, that his state of mind when 
he entered Exeter, was most distressing, as he was on the 
very point of complying with a dreadful temptation, which 
would have embittered his future life. He had been a dis- 
ciple of Christ, and was anxious to consecrate his life to 
the service of his adorable Master, and had sought a help- 
mate to strengthen his hands in serving God. A lady, 
whom he deemed pious, had accepted his addresses ; but, 
when every customary arrangement was made, she had dis- 
honourably discarded him. His mind was so exceedingly 
wounded and disgusted, that he had determined to choose 
a wife who made no profession of religion, and had fixed 






JUDGES I. 107 

on another object for his addresses, with every prospect of 
success, although he had not as yet mentioned his intention 
to her. He added, " But the providence of God led me, 
an entire stranger, to this city, to your meeting-house. 
You may suppose that your subject arrested my attention. 
You appeared to be acquainted with every feeling of my 
soul. I saw my danger, and perceived the temptation, 
and the certain ruin of my peace if the dreadful snare had 
not been broken. You, Sir, under God, have been my de- 
liverer. By the next Sabbath I should have been bound 
in honour to an enemy of that Saviour whom I adore ; 
for although she is moral, and externally correct, yet she 
knows not the Saviour but by name. I could not leave 
the city in peace until I had sought to make this commu- 
nication." 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 13. — Of the vineyards and olive- 
yards which ye planted not do ye eat. 

A very poor and aged man, busied in planting and graft- 
ing an apple-tree, was rudely interrupted by this interroga- 
tion : — " Why do you plant trees, who cannot hope to eat 
the fruit of them ?" He raised himself up, and, leaning 
upon his spade, replied, " Some one planted trees before I 
was born, and I have eaten the fruit ; I now plant for 
others, that the memorial of my gratitude may exist when 
I am dead and gone." 



JUDGES. 



Chap. i. ver. 7. — Adoni-bezek said, Threescore 
and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great 
toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table : 
as I have done, so God hath requited me. 

The history of a respected citizen of the town of A , 

is remarkable, on account of his seven sons, who, though 
not otherwise deformed, were quite dumb. The father was 
constantly sorrowing over his sons, and could not compre- 
hend why God visited him so dreadfully, more than other 
fathers. One day he accompanied them to a neighbouring 
farm, and where an old Swiss sold refreshments. The 



108 JUDGES III. 

afflicted father looked with much feeling at his sons, who 
sat blooming and healthy round the table. The tears 
started in his eyes, and he exclaimed, u O God ! why have 
I deserved this ?" The old Swiss, who had overheard him, 
drew him on one side, and said, with honesty, u I see you 
are downcast at the affliction of your sons ; but I do not 
wonder at it. Do you not remember (I knew you from 
your youth) when a boy, how you laid snares for the birds, 
and when caught, tore their tongues out of their mouths, 
and then with malignant joy let them fly again ? How 
often have I not warned you ! Oh, the birds under the 
heavens, who could not praise God with their tongues, 
have accused you, and you shall never hear the sweet 
name of father from the lips of your children.'" 

Chap. ii. ver. 2. — Ye shall make no league with 
the inhabitants of this land. 

On one occasion, the late Mr Hall of Bristol having 
mentioned, in terms of panegyric, Dr Priestley, who was 
eminent in scientific attainments, but deeply imbued with 
Socinian principles, a gentleman who held Dr P.'s theolo- 
gical opinions, tapping him on the shoulder, said, u Ah, 
Sir, we shall have you among us soon, I see." Mr Hall 
started, and, offended by the tone in which this was uttered, 
hastily replied, " Me amongst you, Sir ! me amongst you ! 
Why, if that were the case, I should deserve to be tied to 
the tail of the great red dragon, and whipped round the 
nethermost regions to all eternity !" 

Chap, hi, ver. 17. — Eglon was a very fat man. 

Mr Stewart, in his account of the Sandwich Islands, 
says, (i The nobles of the land are so strongly marked by 
their external appearance, as at all times to be easily distin- 
guishable from the common people. They seem, indeed, 
in size and stature, to be almost a distinct race. They are 
all large in their frame, and often excessively corpulent ; 
while the common people are scarcely of the ordinary height 
of Europeans, and of a thin, rather than full habit. Keo- 
puolani, the mother of Kiho-Kiho, and Taumuarii, King 
of Tauni, are the only chiefs arrived at years of maturity 
I have yet seen, who re not heavy, corpulent persons. The 
governess of Tauai, the sister of Taumuarii, is said to be 
remarkably so ; JNamokana, one of the queens of Tameha- 









JUDGES V. 109 

meha, is exceedingly corpulent ; her sisters Kaahumanu 
and Kalakua, nearly the same ; and her brother Kuakini, 
governor of Humaii, though little more than twenty-five 
years old, is so remarkably stout, as to be unequal to any 
exertion, and scarcely able to walk without difficulty. This 
immense bulk of person is supposed to arise from the care 
taken of them from their earliest infancy ; and from the 
abundance and nutritious quality of their food, especially 
that of poe, a kind of paste made from the taro, an escu- 
lent root, a principal article of diet. They live on the 
abundant resources of the land and the sea ; and, free from 
all toil and oppression, their only care is c to eat, and to 
drink, and to be merry. ,' " 

Chap. iv. ver. 20. — Sis?ra said unto her, Stand in 
the door of the tent ; and it shall be, when any man 
doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any 
man here ? that thou shalt say, No. 

Bishop Atterbury was once addressed by some of his 
right reverend coadjutors to the following effect : — " My 
Lord, why will you not suffer your servants to deny yon, 
when you do not care to see company ? It is not a lie for 
them to say, your lordship is not at home, for it deceives 
no one ; every body knowing it means only your lordship is 
busy.'' He replied, " My Lords, if it is, which I doubt, 
consistent with sincerity, yet I am sure it is not consistent 
with that sincerity which becomes a christian bishop.'" 

Chap. v. ver. 14. — Out of Zebulun came they that 
handle the pen of the writer. 

One night, in the year 1745, when the rebels were ex- 
pected to make an attack on the town of Stirling, the Rev. 
Ebenezer Erskine, minister there, presented himself in the 
guard-room, fully accoutred in the military garb of the 
times. Two literary gentlemen of the place happened to 
be on guard the same night ; and surprised to see the vene- 
rable clergyman in this attire, recommended to him to go 
home to his prayers, as more suitable to his vocation. " I 
am determined," was his reply, " to take the hazard of the 
night along with you ; for the present crisis requires the 
arms as well as the prayers of all good subjects." He re- 
mained with them, accordingly, all that night ; but no for- 
mal attack was then made. 



110 JUDGE? VII. 

Chap. vi. ver. 31. — If lie be a god. let him plead 
for himselh because one hath cast down his altar. 

A chief in Tahiti, one of the South Sea Islands, inform- 
ed Messrs Tyerman and Bennet, that -when Pornare, the 
king, allured heathenism, he ordered the chief to take an 
axe and chop his gods to pieces. Though exceedingly 
terrified with the anticipation of the consequences, should 
they resist and retaliate, as the priests threatened, he never- 
theless determined to put their divinity to the proof, and 
with a trembling hand began the work, when, no evil fol- 
d g, he completed it with all his might. After the last 
decisive battle, Pomare commanded bis people to go to the 
great marae, or temple, at Taiarabu. and fetch out Oro (the 
god of war, ) and commit him, together with all the rabble 
of blocks that occupied his chamber of imagery, to the 
flames, This was a perilous enterprise ; a few bold spirits, 
however, were found to attempt it. These marched to the 
marae, but. instead of entering, fired into the house where 
the idols were kept, saying, " Now. ye gods, if ye be gods, 
and have any power, come forth and avenge the insults 
which we offer you," The multitude who had assembled 
to witness the sacrilege stood amazed — not less at t 
pctenee of the deities, than the rashness of the assailams, 
The house was afterwards pulled down, when the wooden 
inhabitants were shot through and through, and then burnt 
to ashes. 

Chap. vh. ver. 13. — YThen Gideon was come, be- 
held, there was a man that told a dream unto his hi 
low, and said, Behold. I dreamed a dream, and. lo. 
cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian 
and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and 
overturned it. that rhe tent lay along. 

A person in Southampton, who was a stone-mason, and 
who had purchased an old building for the materials, pre- 
vious to his pulling it down, came to Mr Watts (father of 
the celebrated Eh Watts) under some uneasiness, in conse- 
quence of having dreamed that a large stone in the centTs 
of an arch fell upon him and killed him. On asking Mi 
Watts his opinion in the c;,se, he answered him to this ef- 
fect : — li I am not for paying any great regard to dream>, 
ing them. If there is such a stone 



'J 



JUDGES IX. Ill 

in the building as you saw in your dream, (which he told 
him there really was,) my advice to you is, that you take 
great care, in taking down the building, to keep far enough 
off from it." The mason resolved that he would ; but hav- 
ing forgot his dream, he went too near this stone, and it 
actually fell upon him, and crushed him to death- 
Chap, viii. ver.. 2, 3. — Gideon said unto them, 
What have I done now in comparison of you ? &e. 
Then their anger was abated toward him when he 
had said that. 

The late Lord Bottetourt, in passing through Gloucester, 
soon after the cider-tax, in which he had taken a part that 
was not very popular in that country, observed himself burn- 
ing in effigy in one of the streets in that city. He stopped 
his coach, and giving a purse of guineas to the mob that 
surrounded the fire, said, " Pray, gentlemen, if you will 
burn me, at least do me the favour to burn me like a gen- 
tleman. Do not let me linger ; I see that you have not 
faggots enough." This good-humoured and ready speech 
appeased the fury of the people immediately, and they gave 
him three cheers, and permitted him to proceed quietly on 
his journey. 

Chap. ix. ver. 13. — The vine said unto them, 
Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and 
man, and go to be promoted over the trees ? 

The witty Earl of Rochester being once in company with 
King Charles II., his Queen, chaplain, and some ministers 
of state, after they had been discoursing on public business, 
the king, of a sudden, exclaimed, " Let our thoughts be 
unbended from the cares of State, and give us a generous 
glass of wine, that cheereth, as the Scripture saith, both 
God and man." The Queen, hearing this, said, she 
thought there could be no such text in Scripture, and the 
idea was little less than blasphemy. The king replied that 
he was not prepared to turn to chapter and verse, but he 
was sure he had met with it in his Scripture reading. The 
chaplain being appealed to, was of the same opinion with 
the Queen. Rochester, suspecting the King to be right, 
slipt out of the room to inquire if any of the servants were 
conversant with the Bible. They mentioned David, the 
Scotch cook, who always carried a Bible about with him ; 



12 • JUDGES XI. 

and being called, David recollected the text, and where to 
find it. Rochester ordered him to be in waiting, and re- 
turned to the King. The company still conversing on the 
same subject, Eochester proposed calling in David, who, 
he said, was acquainted with the Scriptures. David ap- 
peared, and being asked the question, produced his Bible, 
and Tead the text. The King smiled, the Queen asked 
pardon, and the chaplain blushed. The chaplain declining, 
David was applied to for an exposition of the text. " How 
much wine cheereth man," David remarked, "your Lord- 
ship knows ; and that it cheereth God, I beg leave to say, 
that, under the Old Testament dispensation, .there were 
meat-offerings and drink-offerings. The latter consisting 
of wine, which was typical of the blood of the Mediator ; 
that, by a metaphor, was said to cheer God, as he was well 
pleased in the way of salvation he had appointed ; whereby 
his justice was satisfied, his law fulfilled, his mercy reigned, 
his grace triumphed, all the divine perfections harmonized, 
the sinner was saved, and God in Christ glorified." 

Chap. x. ver. 18. — They put away the strange 
gods from among them. 

One of the deacons in the church at Eimeo, is also a 
chief and a judge of the island ; and, both jn his official 
and private character, is venerated by his people, and re- 
garded by the missionaries, who bear testimony, that by his 
uniform christian demeanour, he has hitherto adorned that 
gospel, which he was the first in Eimeo publicly to confess, 
by throwing his idols into the flames. This he did in the 
presence of his countrymen, who stood shuddering at his 
hardihood, and expecting that the evil spirits, to whom the 
senseless stocks were dedicated, would strike him dead on 
the spot for the profanation. He remained unharmed, 
however, and it was not long before other chiefs followed 
his example, and the people joining in with them, the tem- 
ples, the altars, the images of Satan were universally over- 
thrown, and, in various instances, the churches of the true 
God have been erected on the very sites of the demolished 
temples of heathenism. 

Chap. xi. ver. 35. — I have opened my mouth unto 
the Lord, and I cannot go back. 

His Majesty George III., while the Catholic question 



JUDGES XIV. 113 

was under consideration, being very much pressed by one 
of his ministers to assent to the total removal of the re- 
strictions under which the Catholics lay, with great firm- 
ness replied, " My Lord, if it will be for the good of my 
people, I will descend to live in a humble cottage ; if it 
will be for the good of the country, I will lay my head 
upon the block ; but I cannot forswear myself, by going 
contrary to the oath I took at my coronation." 

Chap. xii. ver. 4. — The men of Gilead smote 
Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugi- 
tives. 

A negro who was servant to an officer on board a seventy- 
four gun ship, was observed to be often alone, and was 
asked why he shut himself up so much. He said the boys 
of the ship mocked him because he was a negro, and he 
was afraid he should be tempted to be in a passion with 
them. 

Chap. xiii. ver. 4. — Drink not wine nor strong- 
drink. 

A gentleman, of the most amiable dispositions, had con- 
tracted confirmed habits of intemperance. His friends per- 
suaded himvto come under a written engagement, that he 
would not drink, except moderately, in his own house, or 
the house of a friend. In a few days he was brought home 
in a state of bestial intoxication. His apology to a gentle- 
man, a short time after, was, that had the engagement al- 
lowed no intoxicating liquor whatever, he was safe ; " but 
if," said he, " I take the half-full of a thimble, I have no 
power over myself at all." He has practised entire absti- 
nence since, and is strong and well. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 6. — He rent the lion as he would 
have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand : 
but he told not his father nor his mother what he had 
done. 

" On a visit to London," says the Rev. J. Campbell, in 
a letter to a minister, " I was expressing a great desire to 
see the late Mr Charles of Bala, with whom I had corres- 
ponded for three years concerning a remarkable revival 
which had taken place under his ministry. Mr C. happen- 
ing to be in town at the same time, your father kindly took 
k 2 



114 JUDGES XVI. 

me to Lady Ann Erskine's, where he resided. We spent 
there two happy hours. Your father requested Mr C. to 
favour us with a brief outline of the circumstances which 
led to the remarkable revival at Bala and its surrounding 
region, its progress, &c. He did so for upwards of an hour. 
On our leaving him, your father said, < Did you not observe 
the wonderful humility of Mr C. in the narrative he gave ? 
Never having once mentioned himself, though he was the 
chief actor and instrument in the whole matter/ " 

Chap. xv. ver. 8. — He went down and dwelt in the 
top of the rock Etam. 

When the Grand Seignior ordered the Bashaw of Da- 
mascus to make the Emir Faccardine a prisoner, the latter 
shut himself up in the hollow of a great rock, with a small 
number of his officers, where the Bashaw besieged him 
some months, and was on the point of blowing up the rock, 
when the Emir surrendered on conditions, 1634. " A 
lively comment, I have always thought this," adds Har- 
mer in his c Observations,' " on Samson's retiring, after 
various exploits against the Philistines, to the top of the 
rock Etam ; and on his surrendering himself afterwards 
into the hands of the men of Judah, sent by the Philistines, 
to take him." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 27. — All the lords of the Philis- 
tines were there : and there were upon the roof about 
three thousand men and women, that beheld while 
Samson made sport. 

Improper and cruel amusements are often attended with 

danger ; and the end of such mirth is heaviness Some 

years ago, at the termination of a fair, annually held at 
Rochdale, in Lancashire, it was determined to bait a bull 
for the gratification of a great number of persons, whose 
tastes are as savage as their amusements are cruel, and ac- 
cordingly, the poor beast was tied to a stake at the edge of 
the river, near the bridge. The radius of the cord was 
about six yards, and the animal in making the circle was 
frequently three feet deep in water. The crowd collected 
to witness this sight was great, and the number of people 
on and near the bridge made it difficult to pass : the sides 
of the river were also thronged with spectators of every age 
and sex, and many were seen near the bull up to their mid- 



JUDGES XVII. 115 

die in water, jumping with ecstacy at the sport. At every 
revolution the animal made to disengage himself from the 
dogs, people were seen tumbling over each other in mud 
and water up to the knees, and the shouts of joy occasional- 
ly expressed, could only have been equalled by the yell of 
savages. This sport continued for about three hours, when 
a considerable portion of the parapet wall leading to the 
bridge gave way, from the extreme pressure of the crowd, 
and five persons were killed on the spot. Other four per- 
sons died shortly afterwards of the wounds they received, 
making nine in the whole who lost their lives, besides a 
considerable number who were severely wounded. The 
stones being large, they fell with overwhelming weight ; 
and from the pressure of the crowd near the wall, numbers 
of the spectators were precipitated along with the stones on 
the people below. One woman had her thighs broken, 
and a young man had his arm completely cut from his 
body, besides others who were severely bruised. May not 
the calamity be regarded as a token of God's displeasure 
against such wanton cruelty ? 

Chap. xvii. ver. 4. — He restored the money unto 
his mother. 

Some time ago, a gentleman residing in the vicinity of 
York received an anonymous letter, appointing a meeting 
in the oat-market, when, as the letter stated, something 
would be communicated for his advantage. The gentleman 
kept the appointment, and was accosted by a respectable 
looking man, who proposed that they should go to an inn 
together. The gentleman consented ; and having entered 
a private room, they both sat down at a table, when the 
stranger presented his new friend with £ 60, which he said 
was his property. The gentleman refused to take it with- 
out an explanation ; but the stranger then presented him 
with £ GO more, and said that was also due besides, as 
interest of the money (simple and compound) during the 
time he held his property. He afterwards gave the follow- 
ing explanation to the gentleman : — " More than twenty 
years ago, you had an uncle, whose property you now pos- 
sess ; his age and infirmities rendered it expedient for him 
to have a housekeeper to manage his affairs. My sister 
was that housekeeper. Some time after his death she found 
£G0 folded up in one of her trunks, which she believed to 



11 6 JUDGES XIX. 

have belonged to him at the time of his death. She sent 
for me, gave it into my hands, and requested that I would 
restore it to you as the lawful heir of her master's property. 
This I promised to do ; but being embarrassed in my cir- 
cumstances at the time, I made use of it for my own pur- 
poses. Years have passed away, and I have prospered in 
business, till I am now able to make the proper restitution. 
I do it to the utmost, and with pleasure ; and I do assure 
you, that this transaction has taken a very heavy weight 
from my distressed mind." Various circumstances then 
recurred to the gentleman's mind, which left no doubt of 
the stranger's story. 

Chap, xviii. ver. 7. — The people dwelt careless — 
and there was no magistrate in the land, that might 
put them to shame in any thing. 

The good effect of magistracy, and of a system of labour 
in prison, will appear by the following anecdote : — cc I have 
heard," says the celebrated Howard, u that a countryman 
of ours, who was a prisoner in the Rasp House at Amster- 
dam several years, was permitted to work at his own trade, 
shoemaking, and by being constantly kept employed, was 
quite cured of the vices that were the cause of his confine- 
ment. My informant added, that the prisoner received at 
his release a surplus of his earnings, which enabled him to 
set up his trade in London, where he lived in credit ; and 
at dinner commonly drank, c Health to his worthy masters 
at the Rasp House at Amsterdam. ' " 

Chap. xix. ver. 20, 21. — The old man said, Peace 
he with thee ; howsoever, let all thy wants lie upon 
me ; only lodge not in the street. So he brought him 
into his house, and gave provender unto the asses : 
and they washed then feet, and did eat and drink. 

The lamented Mungo Park, when suffering under the 
pangs of hunger, rode up to the Dooty's house, in a Foulah 
village, but was denied admittance ; nor could he even 
obtain a handful of corn either for himself or his horse. 
" Turning," says he, "from this inhospitable door, I rode 
slowly out of the town ; and perceiving some low Scotland 
huts without the walls, I directed my steps towards them, 
knowing that in Africa, as well as in Europe, hospitality 



JUDGES XXI. 117 

does not always prefer the highest dwellings. At the door 
of one of these huts, an old motherly -looking woman sat 
spinning cotton. I made signs to her that I was hungry, 
and enquired if she had any victuals with her in the hut. 
She immediately laid down her distaff, and desired me, in 
Arabic, to come in. When I had seated myself en the 
floor, she set before me a dish of kouskous that had been 
left the preceding night, of which I made a tolerable meal ; 
and in return for this kindness, I gave her one of my pocket 
handkerchiefs, begging, at the same time, a little corn for 
my horse, which she readily brought me. Overcome with 
joy at so unexpected a deliverance, I lifted up my eyes to 
heaven ; and whilst my heart swelled with gratitude, I re- 
turned thanks to that gracious and bountiful Being, whose 
power had supported me under so many dangers, and had 
now spread for me a table in the wilderness. " 

Chap. xx. ver. 1. — All the children of Israel went 
out, and the congregation was gathered together as 
one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the 
land of Gilead, unto the Lord in Mizpeh. 

Harmer has the following quotation from Pocock's Tra- 
vels, which he seems to consider as the remains of ancient 
Eastern usages, and illustrative of the preceding passage : 
" Near Cairo, beyond the mosque of Sheikh Duise, and the 
neighbourhood of a burial-place of the sons of some Pashas, 
on a hill, is a solid building of stone, about three feet wide, 
built with ten steps, being at the top about three feet square, 
on which the Sheikh mounts to pray on any extraordinary 
occasion, when all the people go out, as at the beginning of 
a war : and here in Egypt, when the Nile does not rise as 
they expect it should ; and such a place they have without 
all the towns throughout Turkey." 

Chap. xxi. ver. 25. — In those days there was no 
king in Israel : every man did that which was right 
in his own eyes. 

Selden, in his book entitled, " Table Talk," in the article 
" King," says, " A King is a thing which men have made 
for their own sakes, for quietness sake, just as in a family 
one man is appointed to buy the meat. If every man buy 
what the other liked not, or what the other bought before, 



118 RUTH II. 

there would be confusion. But that charge being commit- 
ted to one, he, according to his discretion, pleases all. If 
they have not what they would have one clay, they shall 
have it the next, or something as good." 



RUTH. 

Cliap. i. ver. 16, 17. — Ruth said, Entreat me not 
to leave thee, or to return from following after thee 
for whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou 
lodgest, I will lodge. — The Lord do so to me, and 
more also, if ought but death part thee and me, 

M. Delleglaie being ordered from a dungeon at Lyons 
to the Conciergerie, departed thither. His daughter, who 
had not quitted him, asked to be admitted into the same 
vehicle, but was refused. The heart, however, knows no 
obstacles : though she was of a very delicate constitution, 
she performed the journey on foot. She followed for more 
than a hundred leagues the carriage in which her father 
was drawn, and only left it to go into some town and pre- 
pare his food ; and in the evening, to procure some cover- 
ing to facilitate his repose in the different dungeons which 
received him. She ceased not for a moment to accompany 
him, and watch over his wants, till the Conciergerie sepa- 
rated them. Accustomed to brave jailors, she did not de- 
spair of disarming oppressors. During three months, she 
every morning implored the most influential members of the 
Committee of Public Safety, and finished, by overcoming 
their refusals. She reconducted her father to Lyons, happy 
at having rescued him ; but she was not permitted to enjoy 
her work here below. Overcome by the excess of fatigue 
she had undergone, she was taken ill on the road and died. 

Chap. ii. ver. 11, 12. — It hath fully been shewed 
me all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law — 
The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward 
be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose 
wings thou art come to trust. 

A female servant, who was past the prime of life, in ai 
inferior station, but much respected for her piety and inte 



: 



RUTH IV. 1 19 

griry, had saved a little money from her wages, which, as 
her health was evidently on the decline, would probably 
soon be required for her own relief. Hearing that her aged 
parents were, by unavoidable calamity, reduced to extreme 
indigence, and having reason to fear they were strangers 
to the comforts of religion, she obtained leave to visit them ; 
shared with them the little she had, and used her utmost 
endeavours to make them acquainted with the consolations 
and supports of the gospel, apparently not without success. 
Being reminded by an acquaintance that, in all probability, 
she would soon stand in need of what she had saved, she 
replied, " that she could not think it her duty to see her 
aged parents pining in want while she had more than was 
needful for her present use, and that she trusted God would 
find her some friend, if he saw good to disable her for 
service." Having continued to assist her parents till their 
death, she was soon after deprived of health, so as to be- 
come incapable of labour. God, in a wonderful manner, 
however, raised her up friends where she least expected 
them. For years she was comfortably supported, and cir- 
cumstances were at length so ordered, that her maintenance 
to the end of life was almost as much ensured, as any thing 
can be in this uncertain world. 

Chap. iii. ver. 18. — The man will not be in rest, 
until he have finished the thing this day. 

" I know nothing of that man's creed," said a person of 
a religious tradesman with whom he dealt, " because I 
never asked him what he believed ; but a more honourable, 
punctual, generous tradesman, I never met with in my life. 
I would as soon take his word for a thousand pounds, as I 
would another man's bond for a shilling. Whatever he 
promises he perforins, and to the time also." 

Chap. iv. ver. 15. — He shall he unto thee a re- 
storer of thy life, and a nourishes of thine old age. 

A widow, who had been left with an only son, when she 
became aged, was much distressed at the thought of being 
under the necessity of going to the poor-house, or of living 
on alms. Her son was now eighteen years of age ; he was 
healthy and strong ; and he assured her, that while he was 
able to work for her, she should be obliged to nobody. He 
therefore took a little cottage for her on the edge of the 



120 1 SAMUEL I. 

forest ; carried her to it ; and got into the service of a far- 
mer in the neighbourhood as a day-labourer. His mother 
lived nine years after this ; during which time he main- 
tained her with great cheerfulness and kindness ; nor had 
she ever assistance from any other person. He denied him- 
self every little indulgence which young men of that age 
often take, that he might maintain his mother. 



I. SAMUEL. 






Chap. i. ver. 27, 28. — For this child I prayed; 
and the Lord hath given nie my petition which I 
asked of him : Therefore also I have lent him to the 
Lord ; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the 
Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there. 

In the vicinity of Philadelphia, there was a pious mother, 
who had the happiness of seeing her children in very 
early life, brought to the knowledge of the truth ; walking 
in the fear of the Lord, and ornaments in the christian 
church. A clergyman, who was travelling, heard this cir- 
cumstance respecting this mother, and wished very much to 
see her, thinking that there might be something peculiar in 
her mode of giving instruction, which rendered it so effec- 
tual. He accordingly visited her, and inquired respecting 
the manner in which she discharged the duties of a mother 
in educating her children. The woman replied, that she 
did not know that she had been more faithful than any 
christian mother would be, in the religious instruction of 
her children. After a little conversation, she said, " While 
my children were infants on my lap, as I washed them, I 
raised my heart to God, that he would wash them in that 
blood which cleanseth from all sin ; as I clothed them in 
the morning, I asked my heavenly Father to clothe them 
with the robe of Christ's righteousness ; as I provided them 
food, I prayed that God would feed their souls with the 
bread of heaven, and give them to drink of the water of life. 
When I have prepared them for the house of God, I have 
pleaded that their bodies might be fit temples for the Holy 
Ghost to dwell in. When they left me for the week-day 
school, I followed their infant footsteps with a prayer, that 



1 SAMUEL IV. • 121 

their path through life might be like that of the just, 
which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. And 
as I committed them to the rest of the night, the silent 
breathing of my soul has been, that their heavenly Father 
would take them to his embrace, and fold them in his pa- 
ternal arms." 

Chap. ii. ver. 18. — Samuel ministered before the 
Lord, being a child ; girded with a linen ephod. 

The Rev. John Brown was born in 1722, in the county 
of Perth, in Scotland. In a narrative of his experience, he 
remarks, " I reflect on it as a great mercy, that I was bom 
in a family which took care of my christian instruction, and 
in which I had the privilege of God's worship, morning 
and evening. About the eighth year of my age, I happen- 
ed, in a crowd, to push into the church at Abernethy, on a 
Sacrament Sabbath. Before I was excluded, I heard a 
minister speak much in commendation of Christ; this, in 
a sweet and delightful manner, captivated my young affec- 
tions, and has since made me think that children should 
never be kept out of church on such occasions." 

Chap. hi. ver. 13. — His sons made themselves vile, 
and he restrained them not. 

A gentleman once observed an Indian standing at a win- 
dow, looking into a rield where several children were at 
play. The gentleman asked the interpreter what was the 
conversation, tie answered, " The Indian was lamenting 
the sad estate of those orphan children." The interpreter 
inquired of him why he thought them orphans ? The In- 
dian with great earnestness replied, " Is not this the day 
on which you told me the white people worship the Great 
Spirit ? If so, surely these children, if they had parents, or 
any persons to take care of them, would not be suffered to 
be out there playing and making such a noise ! No ! no ! 
they have lost their fathers and mothers, and have no one 
to take care of them !" 

Chap. iv. ver. 7.— The Philistines were afraid ; 
for they said, God is come into the camp. And they 
said, \V r oe unto us. 

The father of three orphan children, lately taken under 
the care of the Southampton Committee for the improve- 

L 



122 i SAMUEL VII. 

merit of the Gipsies, had lived an atheist, but such he could 
not die. Pie had often declared there was no God ; but 
before his death, he called one of his sons to him and said, 
— " I have always said there was no God, but now I know 
there is ; I see him now." He attempted to pray, but 
knew not how ! And many other gipsies have been so 
afraid of God, that they dreaded to be alone. 

Chap. v. ver. -i. — The head of Dagon, and both the 
palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold : 
only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 

A missionary in the East Indies, passed a place which 
had fallen into decay, although it had been the dwelling- 
place of a god, where, during the last dry season, a buffalo 
had been sacrificed for obtaining rain. The missionary 
inquired after the god, of which nothing remained, and 
was answered by the people, that u the white anis had 
eaten him." 

Chap. vi. ver. 9. — It was a chance that happened 
to us. 

A careless sailor, on going to. sea, remarked to his reli- 
gious brother i — " Tom, you talk a great deal about reli- 
gion and Providence, and if I should be wrecked, and a 
ship was to heave in sight and take me off, I suppose you 
would call it a merciful Providence. It's all very well, but 
I believe no such thing, — these things happen, like other 
things, by mere chance, and you call it Providence, that's 
all !" He went upon his voyage, and the case he had put 
hypotheticalJy was soon literally true ; he was wrecked, and 
remained upon the wreck three days, when a ship appeared, 
and, seeing their signal of distress, came to their relief. He 
returned, and in relating it, said to his brother, " O Tom, 
when that ship hove in sight, my words to you came in a 
moment into my mind — it was like a bolt of thunder : I 
have never got rid of it ; and now I think it no more than 
an act of common gratitude to give myself up to Hiin who 
pitied and saved me." 

Chap. vii. ver. 5. — I will pray for you unto the 

Lord. 

An eminent minister in the north of Scotland, remark- 
able fcr his fervour, was once praying in the public assembly 



1 SAMUEL IX. 123 

for various classes of sinners. Among others he prayed for 
profane sinners, that, notwithstanding all the enormity of 
their offences, God would pardon them through the Lord 
Jesus Christ. A profane swearer, w^ho was present, felt 
deeply interested, and lived to manifest a thorough conver- 
sion to God, and by the Divine blessing, the effect and 
answer of the prayer which had been offered for that class 
of sinners to which he belonged. 

Chap. viii. ver. 17. — He will take the tenth of 
your sheep ; and ye shall be his servants. 

A poor man in one of the Sandwich Islands, by some 
means obtained the possession of a pig, when too small to 
make a meal for his family. He secreted it at a distance 
from his house, and fed it till it had grown to a size sufficient 
to afford the desired repast. It was then killed, and put 
into the oven, with the same precaution of secrecy : but 
when almost prepared for appetites, whetted by long antici- 
pation to an exquisite keenness, a caterer of the royal house- 
hold unhappily came near, and, attracted to the spot by the 
savoury fumes of the baking pile, deliberately took a seat 
till the animal was cooked, and then bore off the promised 
banquet without ceremony or apology. 

Chap. ix. ver. 7. — If we go, what shall we bring 
the man ? — There is not a present to bring to the 
man of God, what have we ? 

" This day," says Maundrell, " we all dined at Consul 
Easting's house ; and after dinner w r ent to wait upon Ostan, 
the bassa of Tripoli, having first sent our present, as the 
manner is among the Turks, to procure a propitious recep- 
tion. It is counted uncivil to visit in this country without 
an offering in hand. All great men expect it as a kind of 
tribute due to their character and authority ; and look upon 
themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded, when this 
compliment is omitted. Even in familiar visits amongst 
inferior people, you shall seldom have them come without 
bringing a flower, or an orange, or some other such token 
of their respect to the person visited ; the Turks in this 
point keeping up the ancient Oriental customs hinted, 1 
Sam. ix. 7. "If we go, (says Saul) what shall we bring 
the man of God ? there is not a present," &c. which words 
are questionless to be understood in conformity to this 



124 1 SAMUEL XI. 

Eastern custom, as relating to a token of respect, and not a 
price of divination." 

Chap. x. ver. 2. — Lo, thy father — sorroweth for 
you, saying, What shall I do for ray son \ 

In the Rothsay Castle, which was lately wrecked, a 
father with his child was near the helm, grasping his hand, 
till the waves, rolling over the quarter-deck, and taking 
with them several persons who were standing near them, 
it was no longer safe to remain there. The father took his 
child in his hand, and ran towards the shrouds, but the boy 
could not mount with him. He cried out, therefore, — 
" Father ! father ! do not leave me."' But finding that his 
son could not climb with him, and that his own life was in 
danger, he withdrew his hand. "When the morning came, 
the father was conveyed on shore with some other passengers 
who were preserved, and as he was landing he said within 
himself, u How can I see my wife, without having our son 
with me ?" When, however, the child's earthly parent let 
go his hand, his heavenly Father did not leave him. He 
was washed off the deck, but happily clung to a part of the 
wreck on which some others of the passengers were floating. 
With them he was almost miraculously preserved. "When 
he was landing, not knowing of his father's safety, he said, 
u It is of no use to take me on shore, now I have lost my 
father." He was, however, carried much exhausted to the 
same house where his father had been sent, and actually 
placed in the same bed, unknown to either, till they were 
clasped in each other's arms. 

Chap. xi. ver. 6. — The Spirit of God came upon 
Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was 
kindled greatly. 

"When Bonaparte retreated from before Acre, the tyrant 
Djezzar Pasha, to avenge himself on the Franks, inflicted a 
severe punishment on the Jewish and Christian inhabitants 
of Saphet. It is said that he had resolved to massacre all 
the believers in Moses and Jesus Christ, who might be 
found in any part of his dominions, and had actually sent 
orders to Nazareth and Jerusalem, to accomplish his bar- 
barous designs. But Sir Sidney Smith, on being apprised 
of his intention, conveyed to him the assurance, that if a 
single christian head should fall, he would bombard Acre, 



1 SAMUEL XIII. 125 

and set it on fire. The interposition of the British admiral 
is still remembered with heartfelt gratitude by all the in- 
habitants^ who looked upon him as their deliverer. " His 
word," says Burkhardt, u I have often heard both Turks 
and Christians exclaim, was like God's word — it never 
failed." 

Chap. xii. ver. 23. — God forbid that I should sin 
against the Lord in ceasing to pray for yon. 

One Lord's day morning, Mr Whiter! eld, with his usual 
fervour, exhorted his hearers to give up the use of the means 
for the spiritual good of their relations and friends only 
with their lives ; remarking that he had had a brother, for 
whose spiritual welfare he had used every means. He had 
warned him and prayed for him ; and, apparently, to no 
purpose, till a few weeks ago, when his brother, to his 
astonishment and joy, came to his house, and with many 
tears declared, that he had come up from the country, to 
testify to him the great change that divine grace had 
wrought upon his heart ; and to acknowledge with grati- 
tude his obligation to the man whom God had made the 
instrument of it. Mr Whitefield added, that he had that 
morning received a letter, which informed him, that on his 
brother's return to Gloucestershire, where he resided, he 
dropped down dead as he was getting out of the stage- 
coach, but that he had previously given the most unequivo- 
cal evidence of his being a new man in Christ Jesus. — 
" Therefore," said Mr W. " let us pray always for our- 
selves and for those who are dear to us, and never faint." 

Chap. xiii. ver. 13. — Samuel said to Saul, Thou 
hast done foolishly ; thou hast not kept the com- 
mandment of the Lord thy God, which he command- 
ed thee. 

William IX. Duke of Aquitaine and Earl of Poitiers, 
was a violent and dissolute prince, and often indulged him- 
self in improper behaviour at the expense of religion. 
Though he had contracted a very suitable marriage, and 
one with which he was satisfied for some time, he parted 
from his wife without reason, to marry another who pleased 
him better. The bishop of Poitiers, where he resided, was 
a holy prelate, named Peter. He could not brook so great 
L 2 



126 I SAMUEL XV. 

a scandal, and having employed all other means in vain, he 
thought it his duty to excommunicate the Duke. As he 
began to pronounce the anathema. TTilliam furiously ad- 
vanced, sword in hand, saying, " Thou art dead, if thou 
proceedest." The bishop, as if afraid, required a few mo- 
ments to consider what was most expedient. The duke 
granted it, and the bishop courageously finished the rest of 
the formula of excommunication. After which, extending 
his neck — a Now strike," said he, " I am quite ready." 
The astonishment which this intrepid conduct produced in 
the duke, disarmed his fury, and saying, ironically, u I 
don't like you well enough to send you to heaven," he con- 
tented himself with banishing him. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 47. — Sanl fought against all his 
enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the 
children of Amnion, and against Edom, and against 
the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines : and 
whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed him. 

Bonaparte, referring to the siege of Acre, says, " I see 
that this paltry town has cost me many meu, and occupies 
much time ; but things have gone too far not to risk a last 
effort. If we succeed, it is to be hoped we shall find in 
that place the treasures of the pasha, and arms for three 
hundred thousand men. I will raise and arm the whole of 
Syria, which is already greatly exasperated by the cruelty 
of Djezzar, for whose fall you have seen the people suppli- 
cate Heaven at every assault. I advance upon Damascus 
and Aleppo ; I recruit my army by marching into every 
country where discontent prevails ; 1 announce to the people 
the abolition of slavery, and of the tyrannical government 
of the pashas ; I arrive at Constantinople with armed 
masses ; I overturn the dominion of the 3Iussulman : I 
found in the East a new and mighty empire, which shall 
fix my position with posterity ; and perhaps I return to 
Paris by Adrianople or Vienna, having annihilated the 
house of Austria." 

Chap. xv. ver. 3-3. — As thy sword hath made 
women childless, so shall thy mother be childless 
among women. 

Persecutors, and others who have unjustly shed the blood 



1 SAMUEL XVI. 127 

of their fellow-creatures, have often, in the righteous Pro- 
vidence of God, met with a violent death, or been visited 
by signal judgments — Nero was driven from his throne, 
and perceiving his life in danger, became his own execu- 
tioner ; Domitian was killed by his own servants ; Hadrian 
died of a distressing disease, which was accompanied with 
gTeat mental agony ; Severus never prospered in his affairs 
after he persecuted the church, and was killed by the 
treachery of his son ; Maximums reigned but three years, 
and died a violent death ; Decius was drowned in a marsh, 
and his body never found ; Valerian was taken prisoner by 
the Persians, and, after enduring the horrors of captivity 
for several years, was flayed alive ; Dioclesian was com- 
pelled to resign his empire, and became insane ; Maximi- 
anus Herculeus was deprived of his government, and 
strangled; Maximianus Galerius was suddenly and awfully 
removed by death ; and Severus committed suicide. 

Chap. xvi. ver. 23. — When the evil spirit from 
God was upon Saul, David took a harp, and played 
with his hand : so Saul was refreshed, and was well, 
and the evil spirit departed from him. 

Sultan Amurath, having laid siege to Bagdad, and taken 
it, ordered 30,000 Persians to be put to death, though they 
had submitted and laid down their arms. Amongst these 
unfortunate victims was a musician. He besought the 
officer who had the command to see the Sultan's orders 
executed, to spare him but for a moment, and permit him 
to speak to the emperor. The officer indulged him, and, 
being brought before the Sultan, he was suffered to give a 
specimen of his art. He took up a kind of psaltery, which 
resembles a lyre, and has six strings on each side, and ac- 
companied it with his voice. He sung the taking of Bag- 
dad, and the triumph of Amurath. The pathetic tones 
and exulting sounds of the instrument, together with the 
alternative plaintiveness and boldness of his strains, melted 
even Amurath ; he suffered him to proceed, till overpowered 
with the harmony, tears of pity gushed forth, and he re- 
voked his cruel orders. In consideration of the musician's 
abilities, he not only ordered those of the prisoners who re- 
mained alive to be spared, but gave them their liberty. 



128 1 SAMUEL XIX. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 37. — The Lord delivered me out 
of the paw of the Hon. 

Mr Campbell relates a singular escape of a Bushman 
child from being devoured by a lion. The child was only 
four years of age, and was sleeping beside its parents in a 
half-open hut. About midnight the child awoke, and sat 
by a dull fire. The father happening to awake about the 
same time, looked at his child, and while looking, a lion 
came to the opposite side of the fire. The child, ignorant 
of his danger, was not afraid, bat spoke to it, and sport - 
ingly threw live cinders at it, on which the lion snarled, 
and approached nearer, when the child seized a burning 
stick, and playfully thrust it into its mouth, when the lion 
scampered off as fast as he could run. The father witness- 
ed all this, but was afraid to interfere, lest himself, as well 
as his child, should have been torn to pieces by the fero- 
cious animal. 

Chap. viii. ver. 12. — Saul was afraid of David, 
because the Lord was with hrm. 

u It has often struck me as a singular inconsistency," 
says a writer in the London Evangelical Magazine, " on the 
part of those who are in the habit of profaning the name 
and attributes of the Most High, that although they are in 
no degree impressed by the idea of the omnipresence of 
God, (who hears and takes cognizance of every oath which 
they utter,) they are often awed into silence by the presence 
of a fellow mortal, if they know him to be a pious man. 

The late Mr M , of N , in the county of F , 

was a striking proof of the correctness of this remark. He 
was a man of extensive property and influence, and a most 
inveterate swearer. In the company of his inferiors, supe- 
riors, or equals, it was all the same. Oath after oath rolled 
from his tongue. And yet there was one man in whose 

presence Mr M was never known to swear. And who 

was he ? A man of high rank and political power ? Not 

at all. He was one of Mr M *s own tenants. But he 

was a pious man ; a fearless defender of the honour of his 

Divine Master ; and of him Mr M could not help 

standing in awe." 

Chap. xix. ver. 10. — Saul sought to slay David 
even to the wall with the javelin ; but he slipt away 



1 SAMUEL XX. 129 

out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into 
the wall : and David fled, and escaped that night. 

Mr John Knox was accustomed to sit at the head of the 
table in his own house, with his back to the window ; yet on 
a certain night, such was the impression on his mind, that 
he would neither sit in his own chair, nor allow any other 
person to sit in it, but sat on another chair with his back to 
the table. That very night, a bullet was shot in at the 
window, purposely to kill him, but the conspirators missed 
him ; the bullet grazed the chair in which he used to sit, 
lighted on the candlestick, and made a hole in the foot of 
it ; which it is said is yet to be seen The Earl of Mor- 
ton, who attended Mr Knox's funeral, when the corpse was 
put into the ground, said, lC Here lies the body of him, 
who, in his lifetime, never feared the face of man, and 
though often threatened with dag and dagger, hath ended 
his days in peace and honour. 1 ' 

Chap. xx. ver. 3. — There is but a step between 
me and death. 

When we consider the frailty, shortness, and uncertainty 
of human life, these words of David will appear applicable 
to mankind in general ; there are particular cases, however, 
in which they apply with peculiar propriety. The follow- 
ing is a remarkable instance : — 

A short time ago, a respectable old gentleman in Perth, 
before he was aware, had placed himself in the way of an 
enraged bull, which was ranging through the streets, pre- 
ceded by a large crowd of people, who were flying from it 
in all directions. The gentleman finding himself suddenly 
by the side of the bull, placed himself as quickly as possible 
against a wall, in the hope that it might pass without giving 
him any molestation. The enraged animal, however, made 
an instantaneous and furious onset, but happily for the life 
of the intended victim, it was possessed of enormously 
large horns, which, instead of coming in contact with his 
body, actually inclosed him, and struck the wall with tre- 
mendous force, one horn on each side of the terrified gen- 
tleman. The bull, hurt by the reaction, ran quickly off, 
without inflicting injury. Deliverance from a danger so 
imminent, calls for the liveliest gratitude to the God of 
providence. 



130 1 SAMUEL XXII. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 2. — The king hath commanded 
me a business, and he hath said unto me, Let no 
man know any thing of the business whereabout I 
send thee. 

From the circumstances in which we know David was 
placed, the account given of himself to Ahimelech, must 
appear untrue, and contrary to the Scripture rule, of speak- 
ing the truth every man to his neighbour At a meeting 

of an Auxiliary Bible Society in London, Mr Dudley re- 
lated that a friend of his, who had subscribed a guinea a- 
year to one of the South wark Societies, and whose servants 
had also become members of it, intimated to him that he 
could no longer give his support to such societies. On being 
asked the reason, he replied, " That they had ruined his 
servants : he had had one of the best women-servants in the 
world ; but, on a late occasion, when he wished to be de- 
nied to a person who called, and bid her say he was not at 
home, she told him she could not say so." ic Why so ?" 
said he. " I have read my Bible," she replied, " and 
cannot tell a lie." — Mr Dudley, however, on conversing 
with his friend, who was a man of sense, convinced him 
that he was wrong in supposing the Bible had ruined his 
servant. It was far more probable that she who was taught 
to tell lies for him, would soon learn to tell lies to him. 
His friend, instead of withdrawing his subscription, im- 
mediately doubled it. 

Chap. xxii. ver. 17. — The king said unto the 
footmen that stood about hini, Turn, and slay the 
priests of the Lord ; but the servants of the king 
would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests 
of the Lord. 

When the infamous Catherine of Medici s had persuaded 
Charles IX. of France to massacre all the Protestants in 
the kingdom, that detestable prince sent orders to the go- 
vernors of the different provinces, to put all the Hugonots 
to death in their respective districts. — " Sire," answered one 
Catholic governor, who will ever be dear to humanity, " I 
have too much respect for your Majesty not to persuade 
myself that the order I have received must be forged ; but 
if, which God forbid, it should be really your Majesty's 
order, I have too much respect for your Majesty to obey it." 



1 SAMUEL XXV. 131 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 26, 27. — Saul and his men com- 
passed David and his men round about to take them. 
— But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, 
Haste thee, and come ; for the Philistines have in- 
vaded the land. 

Mr Alexander Peden, a Scotch Covenanter, with some 
others, had been, at one time, pursued, both by horse and 
foot, for a considerable way. At last, getting some little 
height between them and their persecutors, he stood still, and 
said, " Let us pray here, for if the Lord hear not our prayer 
and save us, we are all dead men." He then prayed, say- 
ing, " O Lord, this is the hour and the power of thine 
enemies, they may not be idle. But hast thou no otheT 
work for them than to send them after us ? Send them 
after them to wJiom thou wilt gi'e strength to flee, for our 
strength is gane. Twine them about the hill, O Lord, and 
cast the lap of thy cloak over puir auld Saunders, and thir 
puir things, and save us this ae time, and we will keep it 
in remembrance, and tell to the commendation of thy gukl- 
ness, thy pity and compassion, what thou didst for us at sic 
a time." And in this he was heard, for a cloud of mist 
immediately intervened between them and their persecutors ; 
and in the meantime, orders came to go in quest cf James 
Itenwick, and a great company with him. 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 19. — If a man and his enemy, 
will he let him go well away ? 

Tasso being tolcl that he had a fair opportunity of taking 
advantage of a very bitter enemy : — " I wish not to plun- 
der him/' said he, " but there are things I wish to take 
from him ; not his honour, his wealth, or his life, but his 
ill will." 

Chap. xxv. ver. 36, 37. — Nabal held a feast in his 
house, like the feast of a king : and Mahal's heart 
was merry within him, for he was very drunken : — 
But — when the wine was gone out of Nabal, his 
heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 

A Mr L , from his earliest years, looked with anxi- 
ous desire to the period of his possessing the living of 

G , to which he was the nearest heir. Some years ago 

the incumbent died. When intelligence was brought Mr 



132 1 SAMUEL XXVIII. 

L , he collected all his friends, and treated them with 

a sumptuous feast for three days. He drank so large a 
quantity of wine upon this occasion, that he became de- 
ranged., was inhibited, and put in confinement, and his 
elder son took possession of his living. 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 8. — Then said Ahishai to David, 
God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this 
day ; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, 
with the spear even to the earth at once, and I -will 
not smite him the second time. 

Arcadius, an Argive, was incessantly railing at Philip of 
Macedon. Venturing once into the dominions of Philip, 
the courtiers reminded their prince, that he had now an 
opportunity to punish Arcadius for his past insolences, and 
to put it out of his power to repeat them. The king, how- 
ever, instead of seizing the hostile stranger, and putting 
him to death, dismissed him, loaded him with courtesies 
and kindnesses. Some time after Arcadius's departure 
from 3Iacedon, w r ord was brought, that the king's old 
enemy was become one of his warmest friends, and did no- 
thing but diffuse his praises wherever he went. On hear- 
ing this, Philip turned to his courtiers, and asked, with a 
smile, — " Am not I a better physician than you ??-' 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 7. — David dwelt in the country 
of the Philistines. 

The celebrated philanthropist, Howard, who spent the 
best part of his life in travelling over all the countries of 
Europe, — u to plunge into the infection of hospitals, — to 
survey the mansions of sorrow and pain, — to remember the 
forgotten, and to visit the forsaken, under all climes," — 
was not unhappy amidst his toils. In a letter from Pig^, 
during his last journey, he says, " I hope I have sources of 
enjoyment that depend not on the particular spot I inhabit ; 
a rightly cultivated mind, under the power of religion and 
the exercise of beneficent dispositions, affords a ground of 
satisfaction little affected by heres and theres." 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 8. — Saul said, I pray thee, di- 
vine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me 
him up whom I shall name unto thee. 

An honest tradesman came one day to the late John Pre- 



1 SAMUEL XXVIII. 133 

deric Oberlin, pastor of Waldbaeh, in France, informing 
him that a ghost, habited in the dress of an ancient knight, 
frequently presented itself before him, and awakened hopes 
of a treasure buried in his cellar. He had often, he said, 
followed, but had always been so much alarmed by a fear- 
ful noise, and a dog which he fancied he saw, that the effort 
had proved fruitless, and he returned as he went. The 
affair so entirely absorbed his mind, that he could no longer 
apply to his trade with his former industry, and had, in 
consequence, lost nearly all his custom. He, therefore, 
urgently begged Oberlin would go to his house, and con- 
jure the ghost, for the purpose of either putting him in 
possession of the treasure, or of discontinuing its visits. 
Oberlin replied, that he did not trouble himself with the 
conjuration of ghosts, and endeavoured to weaken the no- 
tion of an apparition in the man's mind, exhorting him to 
seek for worldly wealth by application to his business, 
prayer, and industry. Observing, however, that his efforts 
were unavailing, he promised to comply w T ith the man's re- 
quest. On arriving, at midnight, at the tradesman's house, 
he found him in company with his wife and several female 
relations, v%ho still affirmed that they had seen the apparition. 
They were seated in a circle in the middle of the apart- 
ment. Suddenly the whole company turned pale, and the 
man exclaimed, " Do you see, Sir, the count is standing 
opposite to you ?" " 1 see nothing." " Now, Sir," ex- 
claimed another terrified voice, u he is advancing towards 
you." " I still do not see him." u Now, he is standing 
just behind your chair." " And yet I cannot see him ; 
but, as you say he is so near me, I will speak to him." 
And then, rising from his seat, and turning towards the cor- 
ner where they had said he stood, Oberlin continued, — 
" Sir count, they tell me you are standing before me, al- 
though I cannot see you, but this shall not prevent me from 
informing you, that it is scandalous conduct on your part, 
by the fruitless promise of a hidden treasure, to lead an 
honest man, who has hitherto faithfully followed his call- 
ing, into ruin — to induce him to neglect his business — and 
to bring misery upon his wife and children, by rendering 
him improvident and idle. Begone, and delude them no 
longer with such vain hopes." — Upon this the people as- 
sured him that the ghost vanished at once. Oberlin went 
home, and the poor man taking the hint uhich in his ad- 



134 I SAMUEL XXX. 

dress to the count be had intended to convey, applied to 
business with his former alacrity, and never again com- 
plained of his nocturnal visitor. 

Chap. xxix. ver. 1. — Tlie Israelites pitched by a 
Fountain which is in Jezreel. 

William, Archbishop of Tyre, informs us that the chris- 
tian kings of Jerusalem used to assemble their forces at a 
fountain between Nazareth and Sepphoris, which was 
greatly celebrated on that account. This being considered 
as the centre of their kingdom, they could from thence 
march more conveniently to any place where their presence 
was required. He mentions also another fountaiu near a 
town called Little Gerinum, which, he says, was the ancient 
Jezreel. Near this, Saladin pitched his camp, for the 
benefit of its waters, while Baldwin king of Jerusalem had, 
as usual, assembled his army at the first-mentioned place. 

Chap. xxx. ver. 11. 12. — They found an Egyptian 
in the held, and brought him to David, and gave him 
bread, and he did eat ; and they made him drink 
water ; and when he had eaten, his spirit came again 
to him ; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any 
water, three days and three nights. 

Alexander, the late Emperor of Russia, in one of his 
journeys, came to a spot where they had just dragged out 
of the water a peasant, who appeared to be lifeless. He 
instantly alighted;, had the man laid on the side of the bank, 
and immediately proceeded to strip him, and to rub his 
temples, wrists, &c* Dr Wyllie, his majesty's physician, 
attempted to bleed the patient, but in vain ; and after three 
hours' fruitless attempts to recover him, the doctor declared 
that it was useless to proceed any farther. The emperor 
entreated Dr Wyllie to persevere, and make another attempt 
to bleed him. The doctor, though he had not the slightest 
hope of success, proceeded to obey the injunctions of his 
majesty, who, with some of his attendants, made a last 
effort at rubbing. At length the emperor had the inex- 
pressible satisfaction of seeing the blood make its appear- 
ance, while the poor peasant uttered a feeble groan. Kis 
majesty, in a transport of joy, exclaimed that this was the 
brightest day of his life, while tears stole involuntarily down 
his cheek. Their exertions were now redoubled ; the em- 



2 SAMUEL II. 135 

peror tore his handkerchief, and bound the arm of the patient, 
nor did he leave him till he was quite recovered. He then 
had him conveyed to a place where proper care could be 
taken of him, ordered him a considerable present, and 
afterwards provided for him and his family. 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 4. — Saul said mito his armour- 
bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through 
therewith. 

The father of a family in the province of Silesia, in Ger- 
many, having determined to put an end to his life, loaded 
his gun, and placing the muzzle to his mouth, called one of 
his children, only eight years of age, and desired him to 
pull the trigger. The poor child, ignorant of the conse- 
quences of his obedience, did as he was desired, and thus 
became innocently the destroyer of his father. 



2 SAMUEL. 



Chap. i. ver. 15. — David called one of the young 
men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he 
smote him that he died. 

Papirius Carbo, the Roman consul, being impeached as 
an accomplice in the assassination of the second Africanus, 
one of his servants, whom he had affronted, stole the box 
in which his master kept all his papers, and carried it to 
Licinius Crassus, who was employed to make good the in- 
dictment. Crassus was at enmity with Papirius, and these 
papers would have furnished him with ample matter to 
gratify it ; but the generous Roman had such an abhor- 
rence of the treachery, that he sent back the slave in chains, 
and the box unopened, saying, that he had rather let an 
enemy and a criminal escape unpunished, than destroy him 
by base and dishonourable means. 

Chap. ii. ver. 22, 23. — Abner said again to Asaliel, 
Turn thee aside from following me : wherefore should 
I smite thee to the ground ? — Howbeit he refused to 
turn aside : wherefore Abner, with the hinder end of 
the spear, smote him under the fifth rib, that the 



136 2 SAMUEL III. 

spear came out behind him ; and he fell down dead 
there, and died in the same place. 

When Colonel Blackadder was a very young man, an 
unhappy affair took place between him and a brother officer, 

Captain S , which was said to have originated in some 

trifling verbal dispute while over their wine iu a company 

after dinner. Captain S , it appears, had taken offence 

at some expressions dropt by his friend in conversation, as 
if intended to call in question his veracity. Meeting with 
him some time afterwards, he reminded him of the alleged 
insult, and insisted upon having immediate satisfaction. 
His friend, astonished and unconscious of giving offence, 
asserted his innocence, as he could recollect of nothing he 
had said that could have the least tendency to asperse or 
injure his character. In vain, however, did he attempt to 
justify himself, and to show him that the words he had 
used were on a trifling occasion, and not capable of the 
construction he put upon them. In vain did he assure 
him, that if he had given him just provocation, he was 
ready to make any proper apology, or any concession or re- 
paration he had a right to demand. In a paroxysm of rage, 

and incapable of listening to reason, Captain S drew 

his sword, and rushed on Lieutenant Blackadder, who, for 
some time, kept retreating and expostulating, willing to ter- 
minate the dispute in some more amicable way. At length, 
finding all his remonstrances ineffectual, and perceiving his 
own life in danger, he saw himself obliged, in self-defence, 
to close with his antagonist. An unfortunate thrust soon 
laid the captain at his feet. The consequences of this rash 
misadventure might have proved fatal to himself, but hap- 
pily the whole contest was seen from the ramparts of the 
town, by several soldiers, who bore witness to the necessity 
under which he was laid to defend his life. The matter 
was speedily adjusted ; and after a regimental trial, the 
lieutenant was honourably acquitted. The event, however, 
was too solemn, and made too deep an impression on his 
mind, ever to be forgotten ; and it is said, as long as he 
lived, he observed the anniversary of it as a day of mourn- 
ing, of penitence, and prayer. 

Chap. hi. ver. 31. — David said to Joab, and to all 
the people that were" with him, Rend yonr clothes, 



2 SAMUEL IV. 137 

and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner, 
And king David himself followed the bier. 

A merchant of the town of Ghinnah, in Upper Egypt, 
was murdered while on a journey from Ghinnah to Cosire. 
Irwin gives an account of the mourning which took place 
while he stopped in the town : — " The tragedy," he says, 
" which was lately acted near Cosire, gave birth to a 
mournful procession of females, which passed through the 
different streets of Ghinnah this morning, and uttered dis- 
mal cries for the death of Mahomet, (the merchant who was 
murdered.) In the centre was a female of his family, who 
carried a naked sword in her hand, to intimate the weapon 
by which the deceased fell. At sundry places the proces- 
sion stopped, and danced around the sword, to the music of 
timbrels and tabors. They paused a long time before us, 
(Irwin and his companions had been on ill terms with the 
merchant,) and some of the women made threatening signs 
to one of our servants ; which agrees with the caution we 
received to keep within doors. It would be dangerous 
enough to face this frantic company, whose constant cla- 
mour and extravagant gestures gave them all the appearance 
of the female Bacchanals of Thrace recorded of old." 

Chap. iv. ver. 10. — When one told me, saying, 
Behold, Saul is dead, (thinking to have brought good 
tidings,) I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, 
who thought that I would have given him a reward 
for his tidings. 

A certain Roman, in the days of Paganism, called Titus 
Manlius, was extremely ill-treated by his father, for no 
other reason than a defect in his speech. A tribune of the 
people brought an accusation against the father before the 
people, who hated him for his imperious conduct, and were 
determined to punish him with severity. The young man 
came one morning very early from his father's country 
farm, where he was forced to live in the style of a slave, 
and finding out the house of the tribune who had impeach- 
ed his father, compelled him to swear that he would im- 
mediately drop the prosecution. Oaths being at that time 
held inviolable in Rome, the tribune declared before the 
people that he withdrew his charge against old Manlius, 
because his son Titus had obliged him to promise upon 
31 2 



138 2 SAMUEL VII. 

oath that he would carry it no farther. The people, charmed 
with the filial piety of Titus to an unnatural father, not 
only forgave the old man, but next year advanced his ge- 
nerous son to the supreme honours of the state. 

Chap. v. ver. 22, 23. — The Philistines came up yet 
again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. 
And David inquired of the Lord. 

ff In the number of providential interpositions in answer 
to prayer," says Le Clerc, u may be placed what happened 
on the coast of Holland in the year 1672. The Dutch 
expected an attack from their enemies by sea, and public 
prayers were ordered for their deliverance. It came to pass, 
that when their enemies waited only for the tide, in order 
to land, the tide was retarded, contrary to its usual course, 
for twelve hours ; so that their enemies were obliged to 
defer the attempt to another opportunity, which they never 
found, because a stOTm arose afterwards, and drove them 
from the coast." 

Chap. vL ver. 20. — Then David returned to bless 
his household. 

Sir Thomas Abney kept up regular prayer in his family, 
during ail the time he was Lord Mayor of London ; and 
in the evening of the day he entered on his office, he, with- 
out any notice, withdrew from the public assembly at 
Guildhall after supper, went to his house, there performed 
private worship, and then returned to the company. 

Chap. vii. ver. 12, 13. — When thy days he ful- 
filled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will 
set up thy seed after thee. — He shall build an house 
for my name. 

When the late Rev. J. Brewer of Birmingham laid the 
foundation of a large meeting-house for worship, having 
been in declining health some time before, he said, on that 
occasion — " You are going to build a chapel here for the 
exercise of my ministry, and with the hope and intention 
that I should labour in it ; and yet most probably, when you 
meet again for the purpose of opening it, you may have to 
walk over my sleeping dust." This solemn and affecting 
premonition was soon realized, and his disconsolate people 



2 SAMUEL IX. 139 

had to perform a painful duty in following the remains of 
their beloved pastor into this unfinished edifice. 

Chap. viii. ver. 6. — And the Lord preserved David 
whithersoever he went. 

Samuel Procter, a class-leader in the Methodist Society, 
was formerly a grenadier in the first regiment of foot 
guards, and took part in the struggle on the plains of Wa- 
terloo. He always carried a small Bible in one pocket, 
and a hymn book in the other. In the evening of June 
lGth, his regiment was ordered to dislodge the French 
from a wood, of which they had taken possession, and from 
which they annoyed the allied army. While thus engaged, 
he was thrown a distance of four or five yards, by a force 
on his thigh, for which he could not account at the time ; 
but when he came to examine his Bible, he saw, with lively 
gratitude to the Preserver of his life, what it was that had 
thus driven him. A musket ball had struck him where his 
Bible rested, and penetrated nearly half through the vo- 
lume. All who saw the ball said that it would undoubtedly 
have killed him, had it not been for the Bible, which served 
as a shield. The Bible is kept as a sacred deposit, and laid 
up in his house, like the sword of Goliath in the tabernacle. 

Chap. ix. ver. 10. — Thou shalt bring in the fruits, 
that thy master's son may have food to eat ; but 
Mephibosheth thy masters son shall eat bread al- 
ways at my table. 

" The eating at courts," says Harmer, " is of two kinds ; 
the one public and solemn, the other private : might not 
the intention of these passages, that speak of a right to eat 
at a royal table, be to point out a right to a seat there when 
the repast was public and solemn ? — Understanding things," 
he adds, " after this manner, removes embarrassments from 
what is said concerning Mephibosheth. Though he was 
to eat at all public times at the King's table, yet he would 
want the produce of his lands for food at other times. It 
was very proper also for David to mention to Ziba the cir- 
cumstances of his being to eat at all public times as one of 
his own sons, at the royal table, that Ziba might under- 
stand it would be requisite for him to bring the produce of 
the lands to Jerusalem ; and that in such quantities, too, 
as to support Mephibosheth in a manner answerable to the 



140 2 SAMUEL XII. 

dignity of one that attended at public times at court. 
( Thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may 
have food to eat : and (for that, I apprehend, is the particle 
our translators should have made use of, not but) Mepbi- 
bosheth, thy master's son, shall eat always at my table.' " 

Chap. x. ver. 5. — Tarry at Jericho until your 
beards be grown. 

A very young clergyman, who had just left college, pre- 
sented a petition to the King of Prussia, requesting that 
his Majesty would appoint him inspector in a certain place 
where a vacancy had just happened. As it was an office of 
much consequence, the King was offended at the presump- 
tion and importunity of so young a man, and, instead cf 
any answer to the petition, he wrote underneath, M 2 Book 
of Samuel, Chap. x. ver. 5," and returned it. The young 
clergyman was eager to examine the quotation, but, to his 
great disappointment, found the words, " Tarry at Jericho 
until your beards be grown." 

Chap. xi. ver. 11. — Uriah said unto David, The 
ark, and Israel, and Juclah, abide in tents ; and my 
lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped 
in the open fields : shall I then go unto my house, to 
eat and to drink ? 

A veteran officer on the French semce, being reduced 
without a pension, and with a young family, worked hard 
to support them by daily labour, in an obscure part of the 
country. He had one son, however, in the military school 
at Paris, where he had every comfort and conveniency of 
life that could be wished ; yet the generous youth refused 
to take any thing but bread and water. When asked the 
reason, he replied, u His father's family had nothing else, 
and he could not think of living luxuriously, while they 
were starving." This coming to the ears of the Duke de 
Choiseul, he rewarded the son, and settled a pension on his 
father. 

Chap. xii. ver. 16. — David besought God for the 
child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all 
night upon the earth. 

" My mother," says Legh Richmond, " had six chil- 
dren ; three of whom died in infancy. A very affecting 



2 SAMUEL XIII. 1 il 

circumstance accompanied the death of one of them, and 
was a severe trial to her maternal feelings. Her then 
youngest child, a sweet little boy, only just two years old, 
through the carelessness of his nurse, fell from a bed-room 
window upon the pavement beneath. I was at that time 
six years of age, and happened to be walking upon the 
very spot when the distressing event occurred. I was, 
therefore, the first to take him up. I delivered into our 
agonized mother's arms the poor little sufferer. The head 
was fractured, and he survived the fall only about thirty 
hours. I still preserve a very lively and distinct remem- 
brance of the struggle between the natural feelings of the 
mother, and the spiritual resignation of the Christian. She 
passed the sad interval of suspense in almost continual 
prayer, and found God a present help in time of trouble. 
Frequently during that day did she retire with me ; and, 
as I knelt beside her, she uttered the feelings and desires 
of her heart to God. I remember her saying, c If I cease 
praying for five minutes, I am ready to sink under this 
unlooked-for distress ; but, when J pray, God comforts and 
upholds me : his will, not mine, be done/ Once she said, 
' Help me to pray, my child : Christ suffers little children 
to come to him, and forbids them not ; — say something.' 
f What shall I say, mamma ? Shall I fetch a book ?' 
* Not now,' she replied ; c speak from your heart, and ask 
God that we may be reconciled to his will, and bear this 
trial with patience.' " 

Chap. xiii. ver. 28. — Mark ye now when Amnions 
heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, 
Smite Amnion ; then kill him. 

" At our village feast or wake," says one, " there is much 
drunkenness and rioting. Sunday has been the chief day 
of gaiety in former years. On the Sunday evening last 
year, seeing the public-house yard full of drinkers, a person 
went in amongst them with tracts, and offered them at the 
ale tables. The first tract offered was, c Are you prepared 
to die ?' The man who took it, read the title aloud, and 
said, * No, Sir, I am not.' He was asked, c Is this the 
place to prepare to die ?' He said, c No, Sir, I think not,' 
He then took up his hat, and said, c I will be off imme- 
diately,' —carried the tract away in his hand, and left the 



142 2 SAMUEL XV. 

village to go home. In half an hour, the public-house 
yard was clear." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 14. — We must needs die, and are 
as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gather- 
ed up again. 

The Rev. Mr Jowett, when describing the funeral ser- 
vices of the Greeks, says, " The corpse was now carried out 
into the church-yard. A slab lifted up, discovered that 
the whole church-yard is hollow under ground. The body 
was put. into a meaner wooden coffin, and lowered into the 
grave. I did not observe that they sprinkled earth upon it 
as we do ; but, instead of this, a priest concluded the cere- 
mony by pouring a glass of water on the head of the corpse. 
I did not learn what this meant ; but it brought to my mind 
that touching passage in 2 Samuel xiv. 14. < For we must 
needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which can- 
not be gathered up again.' " 

Chap. xv. ver. 26. — If he thus say, I have no de- 
light in thee ; behold, here am I, let him do to me as 
seemeth good unto him. 

Mr Hey, an eminent surgeon, early in the year 1778, 
received a stroke upon his thigh, which threatened the 
complete suspension of his professional labours. The re- 
medies applied under his own direction, and those of his 
medical friends, proved altogether unserviceable ; and it 
appeared in the highest degree probable to himself and 
them, that he would never regain the power of walking. 
He was the father of a large family, and was soon to be the 
parent of the eleventh child. He was in full business, and 
had the most reasonable prospect of distinction and emolu- 
ment, as creditable to himself as advantageous to his family. 
Mr Hey felt this afflictive dispensation of Divine Pro- 
vidence as every considerate man in similar circumstances 
would feel it — he was deeply affected by it ; but his lan- 
guage and conduct were constantly expressive of the most 
humble submission, and meek acquiescence in the Divine 
will. To an intimate friend, who was lamenting the appa- 
rent consequences of a disorder which extinguished all his 
prospects of future usefulness, he replied, u If it be the will 
of God that I should be confined to my sofa, and he com- 



2 SAMUEL XVI. 143 

mand me to pick straws during the remainder of my life, I 
hope I should feel no repugnance to his good pleasure." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 11. — Behold, my son, which came 
forth of my bowels, seeketh my life. 

A pious father, alive to the importance of his trust, ne- 
glected nothing, in order to give a good education to his 
son. Good examples, pious instructions, and sound ad- 
vice, were all employed for this purpose ; but a bad temper 
and criminal propensities obtained the ascendancy in the 
soul, and drove the reckless youth to multiplied irregulari- 
ties, which wrung the heart of his parent, and caused the 
most pungent sorrow. This unnatural son, listening to the 
suggestions of a wicked heart, formed the horrible project 
of assassinating his father, that he might at once become 
possessed of his property, and, of course, that he might be 
able to indulge, to a greater extent, in licentiousness. The 
unhappy father received the painful intelligence, through a 
medium which left no doubt on his mind concerning the 
fact. Stung with grief, and resolving to make a last effort 
to touch a heart so lost to itself, the father said one day to 
his son, " My son, would you take a walk with me ? Your 
company will give me pleasure." The son consented to 
the proposal, perhaps with the view of executing his barba- 
rous intention. The father conducted him insensibly to a 
solitary place, in the deepest recesses of an extensive forest. 
Then stopping suddenly, he addressed his son in the follow- 
ing terms : — " My son, I have been told, and have no 
doubt of the fact, that you have formed the desperate reso- 
lution of murdering me. Notwithstanding the many just 
grounds of complaint which I have against you, still you 
are my son, and I love you still, and wish to give you a 
last token of my tenderness. I have led you into this forest, 
and to this solitary place, where none are to witness our 
conduct, and where none can have the smallest knowledge 
of your crime." Thus, drawing a dagger, which had been 
concealed, " There, my son," said he, " there is a dagger ; 
— take your will of me — execute the cruel design which you 
have formed against my life — put me to death according to 
your resolution — I shall, at least, in dying here, save you 
from falling into the hands of human justice ; — this shall 
be the last evidence of my tender attachment to you ; in my 
extreme grief, this shall be some consolation to me, that I 



34 ^ 2 SAMUEL XVIII. 

shall save your life, whilst you deprive me of mine," The 
sod, struck and astonished, could not refrain from crying ; 
he burst into a flood of tears — threw himself at his father's 
feet — implored the forgiveness of his foul offence— protest- 
ed before God, that he would change his conduct to the best 
and most benevolent of fathers. He kept his word,— re- 
nouncing his ruinous irregularities, and causing consolation 
and joy, somewhat proportioned to the grief and sorrows of 
soul which he had given to his father. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 23.— When Ahithophel saw that 
his counsel was not followed, lie saddled his ass, and 
arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and 
put his household in order, and hanged himself. 

An avowed infidel, whose language and conduct had 
been most profane, and who had boldly argued for man's 
right to kill himself when he found it expedient, swallowed 
a quantity of opium which put an end to his life. Among 
his papers was found one, on which was written, " I have 
this moment swallowed a vial of tincture of opium, conse- 
quently my life will be but short. Whether there will be 
a heaven or a hell, I leave parsons to divine." The part 
of the manuscript which followed was blotted, and con- 
cluded thus r " My hand trembles, my eyes grow dim, I 
can see to write no more ; but he that would be happy 
should be religious." 

Chap. xvih. ver. 9. — Absalom's head caught hold 
of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven 
and the earth ; and the mule that was under him 
went away. 

Unnatural and disobedient children are often, in the 
rghteous retributions of Providence, punished for their 
wickedness. Mr Clarke mentions the case of Adolf, son 
of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, who, dissatisfied that his 
father should live so long, came upon him one night as he 
was going to bed, took him prisoner, obliged him to go on 
foot in a cold season, barelegged as he was, and then shut 
him a close prisoner in a dark dungeon for six months. 
Such disobedience and cruelty did not, however, go long 
unpunished ; for shortly after, the son was apprehended, 
kept for a long time in prison,; and after his release 3 was- 
slain in a battle with the French. 



2 SAMUEL XXI. 145 

Chap. xix. ver. 21, 22. — Abishai — said, Shall not 
Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed 
the Lord's anointed ? — And David said — Shall there 
any man be put to death this day in Israel ? for do 
not I know that I am tins day King over Israel ? 

Louis XII. of France had been Duke of Orleans before 
his elevation to the crown. During that time, a French 
nobleman had offered him several unjust and gross indigni- 
ties. After his accession to the throne, some courtiers 
hinted to him, that it was now in his power to avenge the 
affronts he had formerly received. His Majesty's answer 
is truly worthy of being remembered — " God forbid, that 
the King of France should remember the quarrels of the 
Duke of Orleans." 

Chap. xx. ver. 19. — I am one of them that are 
peaceable and faithful in Israel. 

The excellent conduct of Mr Swartz, missionary in In- 
dia, was such as to secure the confidence of all ranks of 
people. In the time of war, when the fort of Tanjore was 
in a distressed situation, a powerful enemy at hand, and 
not provision enough even for the garrison, and when, to 
add to this distress, the neighbouring inhabitants, who, by 
ill-treatment, had lost all confidence in the Europeans, and 
the Rajah had in vain entreated the help of the people, the 
only hope left was in Mr Swartz. " We have all lost our 
credit," said the Rajah to an English gentleman ; " let us 
try whether the inhabitants will trust Mr Swartz." Ac- 
cordingly, he was desired to make an agreement with them. 
There was no time to be lost. The Seapoys fell as dead 
people, being emaciated with hunger. The streets were 
lined with dead bodies every morning. He sent, therefore, 
letters in every direction, promising to pay, with his own 
hands, for every bullock that might be taken by the enemy. 
In a day or two he got above a thousand bullocks. He 
sent catechists and other Christians into the country, at the 
risk of their lives, who returned in a short time, and brought 
into the fort a great quantity of corn. Thus the fort was 
saved ; and when all was over, he paid all the people, made 
them a small present, and sent them away. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 10. — Rizpah — suffered neither the 



146 2 SAMUEL XXIII. 

birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts 
of the held by night. 

Timoleon, the Corinthian, being in a battle with the Ar- 
gives, and seeing his brother fall dead with the wounds he 
had received, he instantly leaped over his dead body, and 
with his shield protected it from insult and plunder ; and 
though sorely wounded in this generous enterprise, he would 
not, by any means, retreat to a place of safety, till he had 
seen the corpse carried off the field by his friends. 



; 

s 



Chap. xxii. ver. 50. — I will give thanks nnto thee, 
O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praise; 
nnto thy name. 

" The Sabbath here," says Mr Stewart, referring to the 
Sandwich Islands, " is a most interesting day to the Chris- 
tian and Missionary. The number of decently dressed 
heathens who flock to the humble temple of the only true 
God — the attention and seriousness with which many of 
them listen to the words of eternal life proclaimed in their 
own language, by the ambassadors of Jesus Christ — the 
praises of Jehovah chaunted in this untutored tongue, ne- 
cessarily produce a lively and joyful impression on the 
pious mind. Of this I saw a pleasing instance only two 
Sabbaths since. An officer from one of the ships in port 
— a serious young man — spent the interval between the 
English and native services with me at the Mission-House, 
As the congregation began to assemble, he accompanied 
me to the door of the chapel, intending to take leave when 
the exercises should begin, as he was unacquainted with 
the language, and had been already longer from his ship 
than he designed ; but after standing a few minutes, and 
seeing hundreds of natives assembling quietly and seriously 
from various directions, he suddenly exclaimed, while tear3 
glistened in his eye, " No ! — this is too much — / cannot 
go till I worship with these heathen /" 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 5. — Although my house be not 
so with God, yet he hath made with me an ever- 
lasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure : for 
this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although 
he make it not to grow. 

" I have been for these two months past and more," 



2 SAMUEL XXIV. 147 

writes the Rev. Mr Charles, a little before his death, " in a 
state of great bodily debility, supposed by the doctors to 
be the effects of over-exertion of body and mind. I had 
frequent pains, and was confined to the house ; and I was 
frequently on the bed. I was not fit for any thing that re- 
quired exertion either of body or mind, and was recom- 
mended to indulge myself in rest and cessation from all 
work, as the most likely way to restore my strength. 
Through mercy I am now much better, free from pain, 
though still languid. I have found great support from the 
last words of David, — the everlasting covenant, 4 well- 
ordered in all things and sure,' containing all my salvation* 
Though I was feeble, I found strong ground to stand upon, 
and I rejoiced in it. When heart and flesh fail, here is 
strength for my heart, and a portion — all my salvation, for 
ever. I cannot now pen on this paper what I saw in it ; 
but I saw enough, and that for ever. God remembered 
me, and showed me the best things he had, — a salvation in 
a covenant made by himself. This salvation in a covenant 
is well arranged, well ordered ; every thing is provided for 
-—the glory of God, his law, and government ; and every 
thing which pertains to the safety and eternal felicity of 
those in his covenant. It is all sure ; the covenant itself, 
and all its privileges, are all sure. May God the Holy 
Ghost keep our minds in constant and clear views of this 
covenant ; and we shall be enabled to rejoice in tribulation, 
and in hope of the glory of God." 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 24. — The king said unto Arau- 
nah, Nay ; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price. 

When Mr Campbell went upon his first mission to 
Africa, the Bible Society sent along with him a number of 
Bibles to be distributed to a Highland regiment stationed 
at the Cape of Good Hope. Arrived there, the regiment 
was drawn out in order to receive the Bibles. The box 
which contained them, and Mr C, were placed in the 
centre ; and on his presenting the first Bible to one of the 
men, he took out of his pocket four shillings and sixpence 
for the Bible, saying, " J enlisted to serve my King and 
my country, and I have been well and regularly paid, and 
will not accept of a Bible as a present, when I can pay for 
it.'* His example was instantly followed by all the re- 
giment. 



148 1 KINGS III. 



I. KINGS. 

Chap. i. ver. 6. — His father had not displeased 
him at any time in saying, Why hast thon done so ? 

A young man, as he was going to the place of execution, 
desired to whisper something into his mother's ear ; but 
when he came, instead of whispering, he bit off her ear, 
telling her, that it was because she did not chastise him 
for his faults when a boy, he was brought to such an un 
happy end. 

Chap. ii. ver. 1, 2, 3. — David — charged Solomon 
his son. saying-. I go the way of all the earth : be 
thon strong therefore, and shew thyself a man ; and 
keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his 
ways. — that thon inayest prosper in all that thon 
doest, and whithersoever thon tamest thyself. 

The following is said to have been a part of Alfred the 
Great's dying advice to his son Edward : — u My son, I 
feel that my hour is coming : My countenance is wan : 
My days are almost done : We now must part. I shall go 
to another world, and thou shalt be left alone in all my 
wealth. I pray thee (for thou art my dear child) strive to 
be a fatheT and a lord to thy people ; be thou the children's 
father, and the widow's friend ; comfort thou the poor, and 
shelter the weak ; and with all thy might, right that which 
is wrong ; and, son, govern thyself by law ; then shall the 
Lord love thee, and God, above all things, shall be thy re- 
ward ; call upon him to advise thee in all thy need, and so 
he shall help thee better to do that which thou wouldest." 

Chap. iii. ver. 20. — She arose at midnight, and 
took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid 
slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead 
child in my bosom. 

Some time ago, a lady, apparently labouring under con- 
siderable fatigue, called at a cottage in the neighbourhood 
of Turnham-Green, in the vicinity of London, and applied 
for refreshment, for which she tendered a bank note. The 
inhabitant, a female, left the house for the purpose of pro- 



1 KINGS V. 149 

curing change, and on her return, with great surprise, 
found the stranger gone. On hearing, as she believed, the 
cry of her infant, she hastened to its cradle ; but to her 
utter dismay, discovered her own had been taken away, and 
another of a tawny colour placed in its stead. Cash to the 
amount of L. 100 was fastened to its breast. It is said, the 
poor woman, influenced by the pecuniary gift, has become 
reconciled to the event, and treats the child with maternal 
fondness. 

Chap. iv. ver. 25. — Judali and Israel dwelt safely, 
every man under his vine and under his fig-tree. 

Plantations of trees about houses are found very useful 
in hot countries, to give them an agreeable coolness. The 
ancient Israelites seem to have made use of the same means, 
and probably planted fruit-trees, rather than other kinds, to 
produce that effect. u It is their manner, in many places," 
says Sir Thomas Row's chaplain, speaking of the country 
of the Great Mogul, " to plant about, and amongst their 
buildings, trees which grow high and broad ; the shadow 
keeps their houses by far more cool ; this I observed in a 
special manner, when we were ready to enter Amadavar ; 
for it appeared to us as if we had been entering a wood ra- 
ther than a city." 

Chap. v. ver. 9. — My servants shall bring them 
down from Lebanon unto the sea ; and I will convey 
them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt 
appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged 
there, and thou shalt receive them : and thou shalt 
accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 

The rafts, or timber floats, on the Rhine, consist of the 
fellings of almost every German forest, which, by streams, 
or short land carriage, can be brought to the Rhine. The 
rafts, when compacted, are said to be of the following di- 
mensions : — The length is from 700 to 1000 feet; the 
breadth from 50 to 90 feet ; the depth, when manned by 
the whole crew, is usually seven feet above the surface of 
the water. Five hundred labourers of different classes are 
employed, maintained, and lodged during the voyage ; and 
a little street of deal huts is built upon it for their recep- 
tion. The captain's apartments are distinguished from the 
others by being better built. • The provisions for the voy- 
X 2 



150 1 KINGS VII. 

age, on board such a float, are fifteen or twenty thousand 
pounds of fresh meat, forty or fifty thousand pounds of 
bread, ten or fifteen thousand pounds of cheese, with pro- 
portioned quantities of other articles. When the float is in 
readiness for moving, and each individual is at his post, 
the pilot, who stands on high, near the rudder, takes oft 
his hat, and calls out, " Let us all pray." In an instant, 
there is the happy spectacle of all these numbers on their 
knees, imploring a blessing on their undertaking. The 
anchors, which were fastened on the shore, are now brought 
on board, the pilot gives a signal, and the rowers put the 
whole float in motion, while the crews of the several boats, 
attending on the float, ply round it to facilitate the depar- 
ture. Dort, in Holland, is the destination of these floats, 
the sale of one of which occupies several months, and fre- 
quently produces thirty thousand pounds, or more. 

Chap. vi. ver. 38. — The house was finished through- 
out all the parts thereof. 

Mr Charles had a strong and ardent desire to procure a 
correct and indefective edition of the Bible for his Welsh 
countrymen ; therefore his toil and labour were very great, 
though without any remuneration from man. While en- 
gaged in this work, he acknowledged that he had a strong 
wish to live until it was completed ; " and then," said he, 
" I shall willingly lay down my head and die." He lived 
to see it completed ; and he expressed himself very thank- 
ful to the Lord for having graciously spared him to wit- 
ness the work finished ; and the last words ever written by 
him, as it is supposed, were these, with reference to this 
work — " It is now finished." 

Chap. vii. ver. 7. — He made a porch for the throne, 
where he might judge, even the porch of judgment. 

Sir Matthew Hale, when Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 
was very exact and impartial in his administration of jus- 
tice. He would never receive any private addresses or 
recommendations from the greatest persons, in any matter 
in which justice was concerned. A noble duke once went 
to his chamber, and told him, " That, having a suit in law 
to be tried before him, he was then to acquaint him with it, 
that he might the better understand it when it should come 
to be heard in Court," Upon which Sir Matthew inter- 



1 KINGS VIII. 151 

rupted him, and said, " He did not deal fairly, to come to 
his chamber about such affairs, for he never received any 
information of causes but in open Court, where both par- 
ties were to be heard alike ;" and would not allow him to 
proceed. His grace went away, not a little dissatisfied, 
and complained of it to the king, as a rudeness that was 
not to be endured. But his Majesty bade him content 
himself that he was no worse used, saying, " He verily 
believed he would have used himself no better, if he had 
gone to solicit him in any of his own causes." 

Chap. viii. ver. 22. — Solomon stood before the 
altar of the Lord, in the presence of all the congre- 
gation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards 
heaven. 

Mr Chamberlain, an American missionary, giving an 
account of the opening of a new meeting-house in one of 
the Sandwich Islands, says, " Probably not fewer than 4000 
persons were present, including most of the great person- 
ages of the nation. We were exceedingly gratified with 
the appearance of the King on this occasion, and also of 
his sister, the Princess Harieta Keopuolani. An elegant 
sofa, covered with satin damask of a deep crimson colour, 
had been placed for them in the front of the pulpit. The 
King in his rich Windsor uniform sat at one end, and his 
sister in a superb dress at the other. Before the religious 
services commenced, the King arose from his seat, stepped 
to a platform in front of the pulpit, directly behind the 
sofa, called the attention of the congregation, and, address- 
ing himself to the chiefs, teachers, and people generally, 
said, that this house, which he had built, he now publicly 
gave to God, the maker of heaven and earth, to be appro- 
priated to his worship ; and declared his wish, that his 
subjects should worship and serve God, obey his laws, 
and learn his word. The religious exercises were appro- 
priate ; and when these were closed, the princess arose from 
her seat, and, taking her stand upon the platform, called 
the attention of the chiefs and people anew to what her 
brother had said, and exhorted them to remember and obey. 
She said God was the King above, to whom they should 
give their hearts, and render constant homage. At the 
closing exercise of the occasion, the King stood up, and 
saying, " E pule kakou" (let us pray), addressed the throne 



152 I KINGS X. 

of grace. In this act of worship, using the plural number, 
he gave the house anew to God, acknowledged him as his 
sovereign, yielded his kingdom to him, confessed his sin- 
fulness, prayed for help, for teaching — supplicated his 
mercy as a sinner, a great sinner, needing mercy, pardon, 
and cleansing — prayed to be preserved from temptation, 
and delivered from evil. He prayed for the different classes 
of his subjects ; for the chiefs, teachers, learners, and com- 
mon people ; for the missionaries and foreign residents ; 
and concluded, in a very appropriate manner, by ascribing 
unto God the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, to 
the world everlasting." 

Chap. ix. ver. 4, 5.— If thou wilt keep my statutes 
and my judgments — then I will establish the throne 
of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 

When his Majesty George III. came to the crown, his 
speech from the throne was worthy of the sovereign of a 
free people s-*- a The civil and religious rights of my loving 
subjects, 5 ' said the monarch, "are equally dear to me with 
the most valuable prerogatives of my crown : and as the 
surest foundation of the whole, and the best means to draw 
down the divine favour upon my reign, it is my fixed pur- 
pose to countenance and encourage the practice of true 
religion and virtue.' 5 In consonance with this declaration, 
his Majesty soon after issued a proclamation against vice, 
among the high and the low ; and his public regard to the 
rights of conscience, as well as the whole tenor of his pri- 
vate conduct, were a practical comment on his speech 
during the whole of his life. 

Chap. x. ver. 7. — The half was not told me. 

A minister once preached from the preceding words, in a 
country village in Lincolnshire, They were considered in 
an accommodated view, as appropriate to the felicity of the 
righteous, and also as awfully applicable to the case of the 
ungodly, throughout the endless ages of eternity. When 
speaking on the latter head, a man exceedingly intoxicated 
rushed into the room, and sat down, who, nevertheless, be- 
haved with decorum during the service. After worship was 
concluded, it was found that he had thus intruded himself 
in consequence of a wager. Some one offered to lay him a 
tankard of ale that he durst net enter in. " Yes, 55 added 



1 KINGS XIV. 153 

he, with an oath ; " and if hell-door was open, I would go 
in." In a few days, Death, the king of terrors, arrested 
his awful progress, cut the brittle thread of life, and con- 
signed him over to the retributions of eternity. 

Chap. xi. ver. 28. — Jeroboam was a mighty man 

of valour : and Solomon seeing the young man that 
he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the 
charge of the house of Joseph. 

A person whose talents had raised him to a high station, 
went to return his thanks to the minister by whom he had 
been elevated. The minister remarked, K You have no 
thanks to return to me ; I had but the public good in view, 
and you would not have had my approbation, if I had found 
any body more deserving of it than yourself." 

Chap. xh. ver. 7. — If thou wilt be a servant unto 
tliis people tliis day, and will serve them, and answer 
them, and speak good words to them, then they will 
be thy servants for ever. 

Some courtiers observed to the Emperor Sigismond, that, 
instead of destroying his conquered foes, he admitted them 
to favour. u Do I not," replied the monarch, " effectually 
destroy my enemies, when I make them my friends ?" 

Chap. xih. ver. 30. — They mourned over him, say- 
ing, Alas, my brother ! 

Mr Fountain, a missionary in the East Indies, says, 
u One morning I heard a great noise, and found a number 
of women and girls assembled to lament over the grave of 
a lad, who had been killed by a wild buffalo ten days be- 
fore. The mother sat on earth at one end of the grave, 
leaning upon it, and exclaiming, c O, my child ! O, my 
child !' At the other end of the grave sat another female, 
expressing her grief in a similar manner." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 13. — In him there is found some 
good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house 
of Jeroboam. 

A little boy, who was educated in one of the London 
Hibernian Schools, in the county of Roscommon, was 
seized by sickness, and confined to his bed. In a few days 
his dissolution seemed to be near. The parents of the boy, 



154 1 KINGS XVI. 

being Roman Catholics, sent immediately for the priest, to 
have the rites of their Church administered, which in their 
estimation was the only preparation for heaven. On the 
arrival of the priest, the boy seemed much confused, and 
astonished why he came. iC Your visit," said the boy, 
" was altogether unnecessary : I have no need of your help 
or assistance : I have a great High Priest on the right hand 
of the Majesty in the heavens, able to save to the utter- 
most all that come unto God by Him : He lives for ever- 
more, to make intercession ; and it is such a priest as I 
require." The priest, perceiving it to be in vain to reason 
at such a time, and knowing the boy to have been made 
acquainted with the Bible, went of7. The child requested 
his parents to send for his schoolmaster, who stated that he 
never witnessed such a scene — it was altogether unexpected. 
The boy was always silent ; though he was attentive to the 
instructions given at school, he never once hinted a change 
in his sentiments. In the course of conversation, he was 
asked, was he afraid to die ? M No," replied the boy ; 
(i my Redeemer is Lord of the dead and living ; I love 
him for his love to me, and soon I hope to be with him, to 
see his glory." 

Chap. xv. ver. 23. — In the time of his old age Asa 
was diseased in Ms feet. 

"Asa was sick but of his £eet, iy says Bishop Hall, " far 
from his heart; yet, because he sought to the physicians, 
and not to God, he escaped not. Hezekiah was sick to 
die ; yet, because he trusted to God, and not to physicians, 
he was restored. Means, without God, cannot help ; God, 
without means, can, and often doth. I will use good 
means, not rest in them." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 10. — Zimri went in and smote him, 
and killed him — and reigned in his stead. — See 2 
Kings ix. 31. 

The cruel Al Montaser, having assassinated his father, 
was afterwards haunted by remorse. As he was one day 
admiring a beautiful painting of a man on horseback, with 
a diadem encircling his head, and a Persian inscription, of 
which he inquired the meaning, he was told that it signi- 
fied — " I am Shiunyeh, the son of Kosru, who murdered 
my father, and possessed the crown only six months !"— He 



1 KINGS XVIII. 155 

turned pale, as if struck by a sentence of death. Frightful 
dreams interrupted his slumbers, and he died at the early 
age of twenty-five. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 6. — The ravens brought him bread 
and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the 
evening ; and he drank of the brook. 

Whilst the cruel persecution, carried on by the Emperor 
Maximian, was raging, the ancestors of the celebrated 
Basil, along with a few servants, fled for safety to a certain 
cave in the side of a mountain. There they remained above 
seven years, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and 
subsisted upon bread alone. But that God who fed the 
Israelites in the desert with manna and quails, directed un- 
provided and unexpected caterers to visit them, — namely, 
a number of fat stags, which approached to the place of 
their retreat, though no person was pursuing them. Of 
these they killed what was necessary for their present 
wants, and conveyed the rest, which made no opposition, 
but went willingly, to a place of confinement, to be re- 
served for future use. ' " So true," adds the pious Witsius, 
" is that observation of the Psalmist, c The young lions do 
lack and hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not 
want any good thing.' " 

Chap, xviii. ver. 4. — It was so, when Jezebel cut 
off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an 
hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, 
and fed them with bread and water. 

Mr David Anderson, once minister of Walton-upon- 
Thames, fearing the return of Popery, went, with his wife 
and five small children, to reside at Middleburgh, in 
Zealand. Some time after, he was reduced to the greatest 
distress, but was restrained by modesty from making his 
case known. One morning, however, after he had been 
at prayer with his family, when they were all in tears to- 
gether, because his children asked bread for breakfast, and 
he had none to give them, the bell rang, and Mrs Ander- 
son found a person at the door, who gave her a paper con- 
taining forty pieces of gold, which, he said, a gentleman 
had sent her. Soon after a countryman brought a horse 
loaded with provisions; but neither of the messengers 
would say from whom they were sent. Afterwards, money 



1 56 1 KINGS XX. 

was regularly conveyed to Mr Anderson to pay his rent, and 
ten pounds sterling every quarter ; yet, to the day of hi3 
death, he never discovered who was his benefactor. But 
Mr John Quick, pastor of the English church at Middle- 
burgh, in 1681, was told by a gentleman then in the 
magistracy, that he carried the money to Mr Anderson, 
being then apprentice to a pious merchant of the place ; 
who observing a grave English minister apparently in want 
and dejected, privately inquired into his circumstances ; 
and, with all possible secrecy, made him those remittances, 
saying, " God forbid that any of Christ's ambassadors 
should be strangers, and in distress, and we neglect to assist 
them." 

Chap. xix. ver. 9. — "WTiat doest thou here, Elijah ? 

A hand-bill, with the title, " What DOESt thou here, 
Elijah ?" came into the hands of a German reformed 
clergyman in Maryland, who was so much pleased with it, 
that he determined to translate it into German for the bene- 
fit of a part of his congregation. He had only commenced 

translating it, when he was called out ; and Mr Elijah * 

coming in during his absence, was so much struck with the 
title, that he took it up and carried it away with him. The 
clergyman came in, and learning from his wife that he had 
taken it, went in pursuit of him, being desirous to finish 
the translation. As he passed a certain house, he saw him, 
through an open window, engaged with some ungodly as- 
sociates in a game of chance. The clergyman, thrusting 
his hand into the window, struck Elijah gently on the 
shoulder, saying, " What doest thou here, Elijah ?" It 
proved a word in season, and was the means of calling him 
from the devious paths of sin and folly, into the narrow 
way that leads to life. 

Chap. xx. ver. 31. — His servants said unto him, 
Behold, now, we have heard that the kings of the 
house of Israel are merciful kings : let us, I pray 
thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our 
heads, and go out to the king of Israel ; peradventure 
he will save thy life. 

The Tusculani, a people of Italy, having offended the 
Romans, Camillas, at the head of a considerable army, 
marched to subdue them. Conscious of inability to make 






1 kings xxr. 157 

successful resistance, they declined all thoughts of opposi- 
tion, set open their gates, and every man applied himself 
to his proper business, resolving to submit, where they 
knew it was in vain to contend. Camillus, on entering 
their city, was struck with the singularity of their conduct, 
and thus addressed them : — u You only of all people have 
found out the true method of abating the Roman fury, and 
your submission has proved your best defence. Upon these 
terms, we can no more find in our hearts to injure you, than, 
upon other terms, you could have found power to oppose 
us." The chief magistrate replied, u We have so sincerely 
repented of our former folly, that in confidence of that 
satisfaction to a generous enemy, we are not afraid to 
acknowledge our fault." The mercy of God in Christ is a 
powerful encouragement to sinners to return to him. The 
goodness of God leadeth to repentance. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 2. — Ahab spake unto Naboth, say- 
ing, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a 
garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house ; 
and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it ; 
or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth 
of it in money. 

Near Potsdam, in the reign of Frederick the Great, was 
a mill which interfered with a view from the windows of 
Sans Souci. Annoyed by this eye-sore to his favourite re- 
sidence, the king sent to inquire the price for which the mill 
would be sold by the owner. " For no price," was the re- 
ply of the sturdy Prussian : and, in a moment of anger, 
Frederick gave orders that the mill should be pulled down. 
" The King may do this," said the miller, quietly folding 
his arms, " but there are laws in Prussia ;" and forthwith 
he commenced proceedings against the monarch, the result 
of which was, that the court sentenced Frederick to rebuild 
the mill, and to pay besides a large sum of money as com- 
pensation for the injury which he had done. The King was 
mortified, but had the magnanimity to say, addressing him- 
self to his courtiers, " I am glad to find that just laws and 
upright judges exist in my kingdom." — About five or six 
years ago, the present head of the honest miller's family, who 
had in due course of time succeeded to the hereditary pos- 
session of his little estate finding himself, after a 1< ng 
o 



158 KINGS I. 

struggle with kmda occasioned by that war which brought 
ruin into many a house besides his own. involved in pecu- 
niary difficulties that had become insurmountable, wrote to 
the present King of Prussia, reminding him of the refusal 
experienced by Frederick the Great at the hands of his 
ancestor, and stating that, if his majesty now entertained a 
similar desire to obtain possession of the property, it would 
be very agreeable to him, in his present embarrassed cir- 
cumstances, to sell the mill. The King immediately wrote, 
with his own hand, the following reply : — 

i; lly dear Neighbour — I cannot allow you to sell the 
mill : it must remain in your possession as long as one 
member of your family exists ; for it belongs to the history 
of Prussia. I lament, however, to hear that you are in 
circumstances of embarrassment ; and I therefore send you 
6000 dollars (about £ 1000 sterling.) to arrange your affairs, 
in the hope that this sum will be sufficient for the purpose. 
Consider me always your affectionate neighbour, 

i; Frederick William." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 84. — A certain man drew a bow 
at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between 
the joints of the harness. 

Speed, in his History of Britain, informs us, that Richard 
I. was besieging a castle with his army, when the besieged 
offered to surrender if he would grant them quarteT. He, 
however, refused their request, and threatened to hang every 
one of them. Upon this, a certain soldier on the ramparts 
charged his bow with a square arrow, and, praying that God 
would vouchsafe to direct the shot, and deliver the innocent 
from oppression, he discharged the shaft upon the ranks of 
the besiegers. The arrow struck the king himself, inflict- 
ing a wound of which he soon afterwards died, and the 
objects of his vengeance were thus delivered. 



II. KINGS. 



Chap. i. ver. 14. — Behold, there came fire down 
from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the 
former fifties with their fifties : therefore let my life 
be precious in thy sight 



2 KINGS III. 159 

In 1682, some soldiers came to break up a meeting 
where Mr Browning, who had been ejected from Des- 
borough, in Northamptonshire, was, and to apprehend him. 
The constable of the place, who was present, admonished 
them to be well-advised in what they did, — " For," said 

he, u when Sir was alive, he eagerly prosecuted these 

meetings, and engaged eight soldiers of the country troop 

to assist him, whereof myself was one. Sir himself is 

dead ; six of the soldiers are dead ; some of them w r ere 
hanged, and some of them broke their necks ; and I myself 
fell off my horse, and broke my collar-bone, in the act of 
persecuting them. This has given me such a warning, that 
for my part, I am resolved I will never meddle with them 
more." 

Chap. ii. ver. 15. — The sons of the prophets came 
to meet Elisha. 

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, there were public theo- 
logical exercises, called prophesying 's, which appear to have 
been beneficial to both ministers and people. Lord Bacon 
gives the following account of them : — " The ministers 
within a district did meet upon a week-day, in some prin- 
cipal town, where there was some grave ancient minister, 
who was president, and an auditory admitted of gentlemen, 
or other persons of leisure. Then every minister, succes- 
sively, beginning with the youngest, did handle one and 
the same part of scripture, spending severally some quarter 
of an hour, or better, and in the whole some two hours ; 
and so the exercise being begun and concluded with prayer, 
and the president giving a text for the next meeting, the 
assembly was dissolved ; and this was, as I take it, a fort- 
night's exercise, which, in my opinion 3 was the best way to 
frame and train up preachers to handle the word of God, 
as it ought to be handled, that hath been practised. For 
we see orators have their declamations, lawyers have their 
moots, logicians their sophisms, and every practice of science 
hath an exercise of erudition and initiation, before men 
come to the life ; only preaching, which is the worthiest, 
and wherein it is most dangerous to do amiss, wanteth an 
introduction, and is ventured and rushed upon at the first." 

Chap. iii. ver. 27. — The king of Moab took his 



160 2 KINGS V. 

eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and 
offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. 

Dr Buchanan, giving an account of the procession of the 
idol Juggernaut, says, "After the tower had proceeded 
some way, a pilgrim announced that he was ready to offer 
himself a sacrifice to the idol. He laid himself down in the 
road before the tower, as it was moving along, lying on his 
face, with his arms stretched forwards. The multitude 
passed round him, leaving the space clear, and he was 
crushed to death by the wheels of the tower. A shout of 
joy was raised to the god. He is said to smile when the 
libation of blood is made. The people throw cowries, or 
small money, on the body of the victim, in approbation of 
the deed. He was left to view a considerable time ; and 
was then carried to a place a little way out of the town, 
called by the English Golgotha, where the dead bodies are 
usually cast forth, and where dogs and vultures are ever 
seen. There I have just been reviewing his remains," Dr 
B. adds, — " I beheld another distressing scene at the Place 
of Sculls, — a poor woman lying dead, or nearly dead ; and 
her two children by her, looking at the dogs and vultures 
which were near. The people passed by without noticing 
the children. I asked them where was their home. They 
said, c They had no home, but where their mother was.' 
Oh, there is no pity at Juggernaut ! — no mercy, no tender- 
ness of heart in Molech's kingdom. " 

Chap. iv. ver. 13. — Wouldest thou he spoken for 
to the king, or to the captain of the host ? And she 
answered, I dwell among mine own people. 

Joe Martin, an Indian chief now residing in New Bruns- 
wick, was interrogated a short time ago, by a professional 
gentleman who holds an important office under government, 
whether he would accept the commission of a captain among 
the Indians, which, he observed, it was in his power to 
procure for him ; to which the Indian made the following 
reply : — "Now Joe Martin love God, pray to God ; now 
Joe Martin humble ; certain not good to make Indian 
proud ; when Indian proud, him forget God : for this rea- 
son Joe Martin never must be captain !" He accordingly 
declined it. 

Chap. v. ver. 1G. — As the Lord liveth, before whom 



2 KINGS VII. l6l 

I stand, I will receive none, And he urged him to 
take it ; but he refused. 

When great preseuts were sent to Epaminondas, the 
celebrated Theban general, he used to observe, — " If the 
thing you desire be good, I will do it without any bribe, 
even because it is good : if it be not honest, I will not do 
it for all the goods in the world." He was so great a con- 
temner of riches, that, when he died, he left not enough to 
discharge the expences of his funeral. 

Chap. vi. ver. 22. — Set bread and water before 
them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their 
master. 

After the dispersion of the Spanish Armada in 1 588, 
Joan Lomes de Medina, who had been general of twenty 
hulks, was, with about two hundred and sixty men, driven 
in a vessel to Anstruther in Scotland, after suffering great 
hunger and cold for six or seven days. Notwithstanding 
the object for which this fleet had been sent, and the op- 
pressive conduct of the Spaniards to the Scottish merchants 
who traded with them, these men were most humanely 
treated. Mr James Melvil, the minister, told the Spanish 
officer first sent on shore, that they would find nothing 
among them but Christianity and works of mercy. The 
laird of Anstruther, and a great number of the neighbour- 
ing gentlemen, entertained the officers ; and the inhabitants 
gave the soldiers and mariners kail, pottage, and fish ; — the 
minister having addressed his flock, as Elisha did the King 
of Israel in Samaria, " Give them bread and water." 

Chap. vii. ver. 4. — If we sit still here, we die. 
Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of 
the Syrians : if they save us alive, we shall live ; and 
if they kill us, we shall but die. 

u It is just a year this day," says Mrs Judson, " since 
I entertained a hope in Christ. About this time in the 
evening, when reflecting on the words of the lepers, ' If we 
enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we 
shall die there ; and if we sit still here, we die also ;' and 
felt that if I returned to the world, T should surely perish ; 
if I staid where I then was, I should perish ; and I could 
but perish, if I threw myself on the mercy of Chrifct. Then 
o 2 



162 2 KINGS IX. 

•came light, and relief, and comfort, such as I never knew 
before." 

Chap. viii. ver. 13. — Hazael said, But what ! is thy 
servant a dog, that he should do this great tiling ? 

One of the early Christians, on being asked by a friend 
to accompany him to the amphitheatre, to witness the gla- 
diatorial combats with wild beasts, expressed his utmost 
abhorrence of the sport, and refused to witness a scene, con- 
demned alike by humanity and Christianity. Overcome at 
length by the continued and pressing solicitations of his 
friend, whom he did not wish to disoblige, he consented to 
go ; but determined that he would close his eyes as soon as 
he had taken his seat, and keep them closed during the 
whole time that he was in the amphitheatre. At some par- 
ticular display of strength and skill by one of the comba- 
tants, a loud shout of applause was raised by the spectators, 
when the Christian almost involuntarily opened his eyes : 
being once open, he found it difficult to close them again ; 
he became interested in the fate of the gladiator, who was 
then engaged with a lion. He returned home, professing 
to dislike, as his principles required him to do, these cruel 
games ; but still his imagination ever and anon reverted to 
the scenes he had unintentionally witnessed. He was again 
solicited by his friend, who perceived the conquest that had 
been made, to see the sport. He found less difficulty now 
than before in consenting. He went, sat with his eyes 
open, and enjoyed the spectacle. Again and again he took 
his seat with the pagan crowd ; till at length he became a 
constant attendant at the amphitheatre, abandoned his 
christian principles, relapsed to idolatry, died a heathen, 
and left a fatal proof of the deceitfulness of sin. 

Chap, ix. ver. 31. — Had Zimri peace, who slew his 
master ? 

Dr Fordyce, in his Dialogues on Education, relates the 
following striking incident, which he says occurred in a 
neighbouring state. A jeweller, a man of good character 
and considerable wealth, haviug occasion to leave home on 
business at some distance, took with him a servant. He 
had with him some of his best jewels, and a large sum of 
money. This was known to the servant, who, urged by 
cupidity, murdered his master on the road, rifled him of his 



2 KINGS X. 163 

jewels and money, and suspending a large stone round his 
neck, threw him into the nearest canal. With the booty he 
had thus gained, the servant set off to a distant part of the 
country, where he had reason to believe that neither he 
nor his master was known. There he began to trade ; at 
first in a very humble way, that his obscurity might screen 
him from observation ; and in the course of many years, he 
seemed to rise, by the natural progress of business, into 
wealth and consideration, so that his good fortune appeared 
at once the effect and reward of industry and virtue. Of 
these he counterfeited the appearance so well, that he grew 
into great credit, married into a good family, and was ad- 
mitted into a share of the government of the town. He 
rose from one post to another, till at length he was chosen 
chief magistrate. In this office he maintained a fair cha- 
racter, and continued to fill it with no small applause, both 
as governor and judge ; until one day, as he presided on 
the bench with some of his brethren, a criminal was brought 
before him, who was accused of murdering his master. The 
evidence came out fully : the jury brought in their verdict 
that the prisoner was guilty, and the whole assembly wait- 
ed the sentence of the court with suspense. The president 
appeared to be in unusual disorder and agitation of mind ; 
his colour changed often : at length he rose from his seat, 
and descending from the bench, placed himself close to the 
unfortunate man at the bar, to the no small astonishment 
of all present. " You see before you," said he, addressing 
himself to those who had sat on the bench with him, " a 
striking instance of the just award of heaven, which this 
day, after thirty years concealment, presents to you a greater 
criminal than the man just now found guilty." He then 
made a full confession of his guilt, and of all its aggrava- 
tions : — " Nor can I feel," continued he, " any relief from 
the agonies of an awakened conscience, but by requiring 
that justice be forthwith done against me in the most pub- 
lic and solemn manner." "We may easily suppose the 
amazement of all the assembly, and especially of his fellow 
judges. However, they proceeded, upon his confession, 
to pass sentence upon him, and he died with all the symp- 
toms of a penitent mind. 

Chap. x. ver. 16. — Jehu said, Come with me, and 
Bee mv zeal for the Lord. 



164 2 KINGS XII. 

Mr John Fox, the author of the " Book of Martyrs," 
was once met by a woman who showed him a book she was 
carrying, and said, " See you not that I am going to a ser- 
mon ?" The good man replied, " If you will be ruled by 
me, go home, for you will do little good to-day at church/' 
" When, then," asked she, u would you counsel me to 
go ?" His reply was, — " When you tell no one before- 
hand." 

Chap. xi. ver. 12. — He brought forth the kings 
son, and put the crown upon hini, and gave hini the 
testimony : and they made him king, and anointed 
lrhn ; and they clapped their hands, and said, God 
save the king. 

At the coronation of his Majesty George III., after the 
anointing was over in the abbey, and the crown put upon 
his head with great shouting, the two archbishops came to 
hand him down from the throne to receive the sacrament. 
His majesty told them he would not go to the Lord's Sup- 
per, and partake of that ordinance, with the crown upon his 
head ; for he looked upon himself, when appearing before 
the King of kings, in no other character than in that of a 
humble Christian. The bishops replied, that although 
there was no precedent for this, it should be complied with. 
Immediately he put off his crown, and laid it aside : he 
then desired that the same should be done with respect to 
the queen. It was answered, that her crown was so pinned 
on her head, that it could not be easily taken off; to which 
the king replied, " Well, let it be reckoned a part of her 
dress, and in no other light." "When I saw and heard 
this," says the narrator, " it warmed my heart towards him ; 
and I could not help thinking, that there would be some- 
thing good found about him towards the Lord God of 
Israel." 

Chap. xii. ver. 2. — Jehoash did that which was 
right in the sight of the Lord all Iris days, wherein 
Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 

The late Dr Finley, president of Princetown Col- 
lege, had once in his congregation, a man over whom 
intemperate drinking had got the dominion. But when 
the pastor discovered the fact, he applied himself most 
anxiously to the reformation of the wanderer. His com- 



2 KINGS XIV. 165 

manding eloquence in the pulpit, was seconded by most 
earnest and impressive appeals in private. Every thing was 
united in Dr Finley, to shew the utmost effect of talent and 
piety — the power of his personal presence — his watchful 
care and tender solicitude — and, when he preached on the 
end of the drunkard, the thunder of his eloquence. The 
effect was irresistible, and the parishioner abstained from 
liquor many years. At length Dr Finley fell sick, and the 
unhappy man, in his turn, showed a corresponding anxiety 
for his minister's health. He often sent to inquire how 
the president was ; and as the accounts became more un- 
favourable, his anxiety became distressing. At length the 
answer came, that Dr Finley was dead : u Then," said 
he, " I am a lost man." He returned to his house, resumed 
his cups, and soon drank himself to death. 

Chap. xiii. ver. 14. — Elislia was fallen sick of his 
sickness whereof he died : and Joash the king of 
Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, 
and said, O my father, my father ! the chariot of 
Israel, and the horsemen thereof ! 

The Rev. John Gibb of Cleish, in Fifeshire, at one time 
travelled during a storm to the extremity of his parish, to 
comfort a godly man in his dying moments. The cottage 
being solitary, and owing to the inclemency of the weather, 
no other person venturing that evening to visit the family, 
he watched with them all night, performing with alacrity 
every kind office in his power ; and when he returned home 
next day, remarked that it was no small honour to sit up a 
winter's night with an heir of glory, or, (in his own homely 
but expressive language,) with a piece of heaverSs plenishi?i. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 10. — Thou hast indeed smitten 
Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up ; glory of 
this, and tarry at home ; for why shouldest thou 
meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even 
thon, and Judah with thee ? 

When Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, was making great pre- 
parations for his intended expedition into Italy, Cineas, the 
philosopher, took a favourable opportunity of addressing 
him thus : — a The Romans, Sir, are reported to be a war. 
like and victorious people ; but if God permit us to over- 



166 2 KINGS XV. 

come them, what use shall we make of the victory ?"— . 
" Thou askest," said Pyrrhus, " a thing that is self-evident. 
The Romans once conquered, no city will resist us ; we 
shall then be masters of all Italy." Cineas added — " And 
having subdued Italy, what shall we do next ?" Pyrrhus, 
not yet aware of his intentions, replied, — " Sicily next 
stretches out her arms to receive us." " That is very pro- 
bable," said Cineas, u but will the possession of Sicily put 
an end to the war ?" " God grant us success in that," 
answered Pyrrhus, " and w r e shall make these only the 
forerunners of greater things ; for then Lybia and Carthage 
w r ill soon be ours ; and these things being completed, none 
of our enemies can offer any farther resistance." " Very 
true," added Cineas, " for then we may easily regain Mace- 
don, and make an absolute conquest of Greece ; and when 
all these are in our possession, what shall we do then ?" — 
Pyrrhus, smiling, answered, ft Why then, my dear friend, 
we will live at our ease, drink all day long, and amuse our- 
selves with cheerful conversation." " Well, Sir," said 
Cineas, u and why may we not do all this nozv, and without 
the labour and hazard of enterprise so laborious and uncer- 
tain ?" Pyrrhus, however, unwilling to take the advice of 
the philosopher, ardently engaged in these ambitious pur- 
suits, and at last perished in them. 

Chap. xv. yer. 16. — Menahem smote Tiphsah, and 
all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from 
Tirzah : becanse they opened not to him, therefore 
he smote it. 

" It was in the spring of 1799," says Dr Russell, n that 
the French general (Bonaparte) who had been informed [of 
certain preparations against him in the pashalic of Acre, 
resolved to cross the desert which divides Egypt from Pa- 
lestine at the head of ten thousand chosen men. El Arisli 
soon fell into his hands, the garrison of which were per- 
mitted to retire, on condition that they should not serve 
again during the war. Gaza likewise yielded, without 
much opposition, to the overwhelming force by which it 
was attacked. Jaffa set the first example of a vigorous re- 
sistance ; the slaughter was tremendous ; and Bonaparte, 
to intimidate the towns from showing a similar spirit, gave 
it up to plunder, and the other excesses of an enraged sol- 
diery. A more melancholy scene followed — the massacre 



2 KINGS XVII. 167 

of nearly four thousand prisoners who had laid down their 
arms. Napoleon alleged, that these were the very indivi- 
duals who had given their parole at El Arish, and had 
violated their faith by appearing against him in the fortress 
which had just fallen. On this pretext he commanded 
them all to be put to death, and thereby brought a stain 
upon his reputation which no casuistry on the part of his 
admirers, and no consideration of expediency, military or 
political, will ever succeed in removing." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 11. — Urijah the priest built an 
altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from 
Damascus. 

" I was sorry to see," says Mr Hervey in a letter to Mr 
Ryland, " from a paragraph in a late newspaper, that, by 
the command of the prince, the tragedy of Douglas was re- 
acted at the theatre-royal. Ah ! this one source, one copi- 
ous source, of our miseries ! If princes will encourage 
such corrupting sources of entertainment, there never will 
be wanting ministers of the gospel to write for them, and 
magistrates to attend them. O that the Prince of the kings 
of the earth would give our rulers, and all that are in au- 
thority, to discern the things that are excellent !" 

Chap. xvii. ver. 28. — One of the priests came and 
dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should 
fear the Lord. 

When the Rev. Mr Charles, of Bala in Wales, met a 
poor man or woman on the road, he used to stop his horse, 
and make the inquiry — " Can you read the Bible?" He 
was so much in the habit of doing this, that he became 
every where known from this practice. " The gentleman 
who kindly asked the poor people about the Bible and their 
souls," was Mr Charles. Meeting one day with an old man, 
on one of the mountains, he said to him, — «• You are an 
old man, and very near another world." " Yes," said he, 
" and I hope I am going to heaven." " Do you know the 
road there, — do you know the word of God ?" u Pray, are 
you Mr Charles ?" said the old man. He suspected who 
he was from his questions. He was frequently thus accost- 
ed when asking the poor people he met with about their 
eternal concerns. " Pray, are you Mr Charles ?" was often 
the inquiry. When he had time, he scarcely ever passed by 



168 2 KINGS XIX. 

a poor man on the road, without talking to him about his 
soul, and his knowledge of the Bible. When he found 
any ignorant of the word of God, and not able to read it, 
he represented to them, in a kind and simple manner, the 
duty and necessity of becoming acquainted with it, and 
feelingly and compassionately set before them the awful 
state of those who leave the world without knowing the 
word of God, and the way of saving the soul. He some- 
times succeeded in persuading them to learn to read ; and 
the good he thus did was no doubt very great. 

Chap, xviii. ver. 31. — Thus saith the king of As- 
syria, Make an agreement with me by a present. 

Among eastern nations it has always been usual to bring 
presents when people visit one another ; they never appear 
before a prince or great man, without having something to 
offer. Modern travellers tell us that, even when poor 
people visit, they bring a flower, or fruit, or some such 
trifle. One person mentions a present of fifty radishes ; 
and when Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller, had agreed, at 
the request of a chief, to take a poor sick Arab with him 
for a great distance, the poor man presented him with a 
dirty cloth containing about ten dates. Mr Bruce re- 
marks, that he mentions this to show how important and 
necessary presents are considered in the east ; whether they 
be dates or diamonds, a man thinks it necessary to offer 
something. 

Chap. xix. ver. 22. — Whom hast thou reproached 
and blasphemed ? and against whom hast thou exalt- 
ed thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high ? even 
against the Holy One of Israel. 

Dr Harris, the minister of Hanwell, during the civil 
wars, frequently had military officers quartered at his house. 
A party of them, being unmindful of the reverence due to the 
holy name of God, indulged themselves in swearing. The 
doctor noticed this, and on the following Sabbath preached 
from these words : — " Above all things, my brethren, swear 
not." This so enraged the soldiers, who judged the ser- 
mon was intended for them, that they swore they would 
shoot him if he preached on the subject again. He was 
not, however, to be intimidated ; and on the following 



2 KINGS XXII. 169 

Sabbath, he not only preached from the same text, but in- 
veighed in still stronger terms against the vice of swearing. 
As he was preaching, a soldier levelled his carbine at him ; 
bat he went on to the conclusion of his sermon, without the 
slightest fear or hesitation. 

Chap. xx. ver. 1. — Set thine house in order; for 
thou shalt die, and not live. 

A woman in Suffolk was taken ill, with but small hopes 
of recovery. She had heard or read something about setting 
her house in order, and thinking it referred only to earthly 
things, said to those about her, she blessed God she had 
arranged all her matters, and got every thing to her liking, 
except putting a few more feathers into one of her beds. 
If her attention was directed to worldly affairs only, while 
the concerns of her soul were overlooked, there i3 reason to 
fear she was ill prepared for dying. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 6. — He observed times, and used 
enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and 
wizards. 

In a book, entitled, " A guide to grand jurymen, in cases 
of witchcraft," written by Mr Bernard more than two 
hundred years ago, is the following relation : — tC Mr Ed- 
munds of Cambridge was one that, for a time, professed to 
help men to goods or money stolen ; and was once by the 
heads of the university questioned for witchcraft, as he 
confessed to me, when he had better learned Christ, and 
had given over his practice that way. He told me two 
things, (besides many other, in a whole afternoon's discourse 
at Castle Kiningham, in Essex,) never to be forgotten :— 
1st, That by his art he could find out him that stole from 
another, but not himself. 2d, That the ground of this art 
was not so certain but that he might mistake ; and so per- 
adventure accuse an honest man instead of the offender, 
and therefore gave it over ; albeit, he said he might have 
made two hundred pounds per annum of his skill." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 10. — Shaphan the scribe shewed 
the king, saying-, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered 
me a book : and Shaphan read it before the king. 

" I reside," says a Scripture reader in Ireland, " with a 
very friendly family, in a large and well-inhabited village, 
r 



170 2 KINGS XXIV. 

where all are Roman Catholics, except two families pro- 
fessedly Protestant. The whole of this population never 
heard of the Bible, and are, consequently, very dark and 
ignorant. On the Sabbath, I read a considerable portion 
of it to the family in the morning, and in the afternoon. 
They were greatly surprised to see so small a book contain 
such wonderful things, and inquired how I obtained it, 
and what country it came from ? I informed them it was 
the Book of God ; that it was written by the holy Prophets 
of the Lord, many himdred years ago ; and that it contained 
an account of the nativity, life, and death of the Son of 
God, &c. They were all perfectly astonished, and after I 
had read a few chapters in the beginning of Matthew, the 
man of the house ran out in haste to two of his next door 
neighbours, and brought them in to see and hear " the Book 
of God," (for by this name my little Bible is now known.) 
These individuals also expressed their surprise, and, after 
hearing me read of the birth, miracles, and death of our 
Saviour, they went out and brought their wives to hear the 
same glorious news." 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 18. — Let him alone : let no man 
move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with 
the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria. 

"While the troops of Charles V. were quartered at Wir- 
tenberg, in 1547, a year after Luther's death, a soldier 
gave the reformer's effigy, in the church of the castle, two 
stabs with his dagger ; and the Spaniards earnestly desired 
that his tomb might be pulled down, and his bones dug up 
and burnt ; but the emperor observed, — u I have nothing 
farther to do with Luther ; he has henceforth another 
Judge, whose jurisdiction it is not lawful for me to usurp. 
Know that I make no war with the dead, but with the 
living, who still make war with me." He would not, 
therefore, permit his tomb to be demolished ; and forbade 
any attempt of that nature, upon pain of death. 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 4. — He filled Jerusalem with in- 
nocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon. 

Charles IX. of France was a cruel and persecuting mo- 
narch, (witness the massacre at Paris in 1572,) and died 
in a very wretched state. He expired, bathed in his own 
blood, which burst from his veins, and in his last moment: 



: 



I CHRONICLES I. 171 

he exclaimed, — " What blood ! — what murders ! — I know- 
not where I am ! — how will all this end ? — what shall I 
do ?— I am lost for ever ! — I know it !" 

Chap. xxv. ver. 27, 28. — Evil-merodach, king of 
Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift 
up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, out of 
prison : and he spake kindly to him. 

Mr Howard, the philanthropist, was once honoured with 
a visit from the governor of Upper Austria, accompanied 
by his countess. The governor asked him what was the 
state of the prisons in the province of Upper Austria. — 
u The worst," he replied, "in all Germany, particularly in 
the condition of the female prisoners : arid I recommend 
your countess to visit them personally, as the best means of 
rectifying the abuses in their management." "I !" said 
the countess, haughtily, " I go to prisons I" and instantly 
both descended the stair-case so rapidly, as to alarm him 
lest some accident should befal them. But notwithstand- 
ing the precipitancy of their retreat, he called after her in 
a loud voice, " Madam, remember that you are a woman 
yourself, and must soon, like the most miserable female in 
the dungeon, inhabit a small space of that earth from which 
you equally originated." 



I. CHRONICLES. 



Chap. i. ver. 50. — When Baal-hanan was dead, 
Hadad reigned in his stead. 

Robert, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, was a 
prince who inherited all the bravery of his family and na- 
tion, but was rather bold than prudent, rather enterprising 
than politic. Earnest after fame, and even impatient that 
his father should stand in the way, he aspired to that in- 
dependence to which his temper, as well as some circum- 
stances in his situation, conspired to invite him. He had 
formerly, it seems, been promised by his father the govern- 
ment of Maine, a province of France, which had submitted 
to William, and was also declared successor to the duke- 
dom of Normandy. However, when he came to demand 



112 1 CHRONICLES III. 

an execution of these engagements, he received an absolute 
denial ; (of the king's breach of promise we do not ap- 
prove,) the monarch shrewdly observing, that it was not his 
custom to throw off his clothes till he went to bed. 

Chap. ii. ver. 35. — Sheshan gave his daughter to 
Jarha his servant to wife. 

Harmer remarks, that the people of the East frequently 
marry their slaves to their daughters, when they have no 
male issue, and those daughters are what we call great for- 
tunes : That Hassan, who was Kiaia of the Asaphs of 
Cairo, that is to say, the colonel of four or five thousand 
men who go under that name, was the slave of a predeces- 
sor in that office, the famous Kamel, and married his 
daughter : for Kamel, according to the custom of the 
country, gave him one of his daughters in marriage, and 
left him at his death, one part of the great riches he had 
amassed in the course of a long and prosperous life. 
" What Sheshan then did," adds Harmer, " was, perhaps, 
not so extraordinary as we may have imagined, but per- 
fectly conformable to old Eastern customs, if not to the 
arrangements of Moses ; at least it is, we see, just the 
same with what is now practised." 

Chap. iii. ver. 5. — These were bora unto David ; 
Shimea, and Shobab, and Xathan, and Solomon. 

A Yorkshire priest, in an alehouse which he used to fre- 
quent, spoke very disrespectfully of Archbishop Cranmer, 
saying, that he had no more learning than a goose. Lord 
Cromwell, being informed of this, committed the priest to 
the Fleet prison. When he had been there for a few weeks, 
he sent a relation of his to the archbishop to beg his par- 
don, and to sue for a discharge. Cranmer immediately 
sent for him, and, after a gentle reproof, asked the priest 
whether he knew him ? The priest replied, " No." He 
asked him why he should then make so free with his cha- 
racter. The priest excused himself by stating that he was 
in drink ; but this Cranmer said was a double fault. He 
told the priest, that if he were inclined to try his abilities 
as a scholar, he should have liberty to oppose him in any 
science he pleased. The priest humbly asked his pardon, 
and confessed himself to be very ignorant, and to under- 
stand nothing but his mother tongue. " No doubt, then," 



5 



1 CHRONICLES V. 173 

said Cranmer, " you are well versed in the English Bible, 
and can answer any questions out of that ; pray tell me 
who was David's father ?" The priest, after some hesita- 
tion, told him he could not recollect his name. " Tell 
me, then," said Cranmer, " who was Solomon's father ?" 
The poor priest replied, that he had no skill in genealo- 
gies, and could not tell. The archbishop then, advising 
him to frequent alehouses less, and his study more, and 
admonishing him not to accuse others for want of learning, 
till he was master of some himself, set him at liberty, and 
sent him home to his cure. 

Chap. iv. ver. 10. — Jabez called on the God of 
Israel, saying, O that thon wouldest keep me from 
evil, that it may not grieve me ! And God granted 
his request. 

A man who was executed for the crime of murder, said 
in his last moments, — " Oh, if I had gone to prayer that 
morning when I committed the sin for which I am now to 
die, O Lord God, I believe thou wouldest have kept back 
my hands from that sin." 

Chap v. ver. 20. — They were helped against them, 
and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, 
and all that were with them : for they cried to God 
in the battle, and he was entreated of them ; because 
they put their trust in him. 

u This day is one of the greatest Ebenezers in my life," 
says Colonel Blackadder in his Diary, after the battle of 
Malplaquet. " We have fought a battle, and, by the 
mercy and goodness of God, have obtained a great and 
glorious victory. We attacked the enemy in their camp, 
a strong camp, and strongly entrenched by two days' work- 
ing. The battle began about seven in the morning, and 
continued till about three in the afternoon. It was the 
most deliberate, solemn, and well-ordered k battle that I ever 
saw : a noble and fine disposition, and as finely executed. 
Every one was at his post ; and I never saw troops engage 
with more cheerfulness, boldness, and resolution. For my 
own part, I was nobly and richly supplied, as I have always 
been on such occasions, with liberal supplies of grace and 
strength as the occasions of the day called for. I never 
had a more pleasant day in my life. My mind stayed, 
p 2 



3/4 1 CHRONICLES VII. 

trusting in God; I was kept in perfect peace. All went 
well with me ; and not being in a hurry and hot action, I 
had time for plying the throne of grace. God gave me 
faith and communion with himself, sometimes prayer and 
sometimes praise, as the various turns of Providence gave 
occasion ; sometimes for the public, sometimes for myself. 
The next morning I went to view the field of battle, to get 
a preaching from the dead, which might have been very 
edifying ; for in all my life I have not seen the dead lie so 
thick as they were in some places. The potsherds of the 
earth are dashed together ; and God makes the nations a 
scourge to each other, to work his holy ends, and to sweep 
off sinners from the earth. It is a wonder to me the Bri- 
tish escaped so cheap, who are the most heaven-daring sin- 
ners in the whole army ; but God's judgments are a gTeat 
deep. I bless thee, O Lord, who bringest me back in 
peace, while the carcases of others are left a prey in the 
fields to the beasts and birds." 

Chap. vi. ver. 31. — These are they whom David 
set over the service of song in the house of the Lord. 

" Dr Watts," says Mr Montgomery, " may almost be 
called the inventor of hymns in our language ; for he so 
far departed from all precedent, that few of his compositions 
resemble those of his forerunners. — Every Sabbath, in 
every region of the earth where his native tongue is spoken, 
thousands and tens of thousands of voices are sending the 
sacrifices of prayer and praise to God, in the strains which 
he prepared for them a century ago ; yea, every day c he 
being dead yet speaketh' by the lips of posterity, in these 
sacred lays, some of which may not cease to be sung by the 
ransomed on their journey to Zion, so long as the language 
of Britain endures — a language now spreading through all 
lands whither commerce, civilization, or the gospel, are 
carried by merchants, colonists, or missionaries." 

Chap. vii. ver. 22. — Ephraim their father mourned 
many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 

The eldest son of the Rev. Legh Richmond, having, 
contrary to his father's wishes, preferred a sea-faring life, 
he went on board the Arniston, a merchant vessel, for Cey- 
lon, which he reached in 1815. More than a twelvemonth 
after, Mr Richmond received the painful account that the 



1 CHRONICLES IX. 175 

vessel had been wrecked, and that all on board had perish- 
ed, with the exception of six persons, whose names were 
specified, but that of his son was not among the number. 
The whole family went into mourning ; and the father 
sorrowed for his lost child with a sorrow unmitigated by 
the communication of any cheering circumstance as to the 
state of his mind, and his fitness for so sudden a change. 
Three months afterwards, a letter was delivered to Mr 
Richmond, in the hand-writing of the very son whom he 
mourned as dead, announcing that he was alive — that cir- 
cumstances had prevented his setting sail in the Arniston, 
of whose fate he seemed to be unconscious ; and commu- 
nicating details of his present engagements and future 
prospects ! The transition of feeling to which the receipt 
of this letter gave rise, produced an effect almost as over- 
whelming as that which the report of his death had occa- 
sioned. The family mourning was laid aside, and Mr 
Richmond trusted he might recognize, in the signal inter- 
position of Divine Providence, a ground for hope that his 
child's present deliverance was a pledge of that spiritual 
recovery, which was now alone wanting to fill up the 
measure of his gratitude and praise. 

Chap. viii. ver. 40. — The sons of Ulam were 
mighty men of valour — and had many sons. 

The Rev. Moses Browne, an excellent minister, was thus 
addressed by a friend : — " You have a very large family, 
Sir ; you have just as many children as the patriarch Jacob 
had." " True," answered the good old divine, " and I 
have also Jacob's God to provide for them." 

Chap. ix. ver. 28. — Certain of them had the charge 
of the ministering vessels, that they should bring 
them in and out by tale. 

Dr John Bamston, in the reign of Charles I., was the 
judge of a certain consistory court, when a churchwarden 
was sued for a chalice which had been stolen out of his 
house. " Well," said the doctor, " I am sorry the cup of 
union should be the cause of difference among you. I 
doubt not but either the thief will, out of remorse, restore 
it, or some other, as good, will be sent to you." Accord- 
ingly, the doctor, by his secret charity, provided another. 



176 1 CHRONICLES XI. 

Chap. x. ver. 13. — Saul died for his transgression, 
and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar 
spirit, to inquire of it. 

Lord Byron, when a boy, was warned by a fortune- 
teller, that he should die in the 37th year of his age. That 
idea haunted him, and in his last illness, he mentioned it 
as precluding all hope of his recovery. It repressed, his 
physician says, that energy of spirit so necessary for nature 
in struggling with disease. He talked of two days of the 
week as his unlucky days, on which nothing would tempt 
him to commence any matter of importance ; and men- 
tioned as an excuse for indulging such fancies, that his 
friend Shelly, the poet, had a familiar who had warned 
him that he should perish by drowning, and such was the 
fate of that highly gifted but misguided man. 

Chap. xi. ver. 22. — Benaiah went down and slew 
a. Hon in a pit in a snowy day. 

In the . beginning of May 1815, the British army in 
India, from the hot winds and bad weather, became so 
sickly, that the troops were ordered into quarters. " On 
the 6th of May," says the brave officer who is the subject 
of this anecdote, " we passed through a forest, and en- 
camped on its skirts, near a small village, the head man of 
which entreated us to destroy a large tiger, which had killed 
seven of his men ; was in the daily habit of stealing his 
cattle ; and had that morning wounded his son. Another 
officer and myself agreed to attempt the destruction of 
this monster. We immediately ordered seven elephants, 
and went in quest of the animal, which we found sleeping 
under a bush. The noise of the elephants awoke him, 
when he made a furious charge upon us, and my elephant 
received him with her shoulder : the other six turned about 
and ran off, notwithstanding the exertions of their riders, 
and left me in the above situation. I had seen many 
tigers, and had been at the killing of them, but never so 
large a one as this. The elephant shook him off; I then 
fired two balls, and the tiger fell ; but, again, recovering 
himself, he made a spring at me. I escaped him, and he 
seized the elephant by her hind leg, then receiving a kick 
from her, and another ball from me, he let go his hold, and 
he fell a second time. Thinking he was by this time disabled, 



2 CHRONICLES XIII. 1 77 

I very unfortunately dismounted, intending to put an end 
to his existence with my pistols, when the monster, who 
was only crouching to take another spring, made it that 
moment, and caught me in his mouth ; but it pleased God 
to give strength and presence of mind ; I immediately fired 
into his body, and finding that had little effect, used all 
my force ; happily disengaged my arm ; and then directing 
my pistol to his heart, I at length succeeded in destroying 
him, after receiving twenty-five severe wounds." 

Chap. xii. ver. 39. — They were with David three 
days, eating and drinking : for their brethren had pre- 
pared for them. 

At the restoration of King Charles II., the Rev. Roger 
Turner preached a sermon, which concluded with the fol- 
lowing excellent admonitions : — " Do not drown your rea- 
son, to prove your loyalty, — pray for the King's health, 
but drink only for your own. Go now and ring your 
bells ; but beware in the meantime, that you hold not fast 
Solomon's cords of sin, or the prophet's cart-ropes of ini- 
quity, and thereby pull down judgment upon your heads. 
You may kindle bonfires in the streets, but beware that you 
kindle not the fire of God's displeasure against you by 
your sins. In a word, for God's sake, for your King's 
sake, for your own soul's sake, be good, that you may be 
loyal V 

Chap. xiii. ver. 2. — David said unto all the con- 
gregation of Israel, If it seem good nnto yon, and 
that it be of the Lord our God, &c. 

Shortly after the defeat of La Hogue, James II. being 
in conversation with the superior of a convent of nuns, the 
lady took occasion to express her sorrow, that it had not 
pleased God to hear the prayers so many persons had offered 
up for his success in that expedition. The king making 
no reply, the abbess began to repeat what she had said, 
when the king interrupted her — " Madame, I heard very 
well what you said ; and the reason why I made no answer 
was, that I was unwilling to contradict you, and be obliged 
to let you see I am not of your opinion ; we seem to think, 
that what you asked was better than what it pleased God to 
do; whereas, I think what he orders is best ; and that, in- 
deed, nothing is well done but what is done by him," 



178 1 CHRONICLES XVI. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 17. — The fame of David went out 
into all lands. 

Boerhaave, who died 1738, in his 70th year, was the most 
celebrated physician of his age. His private virtues, ex- 
tensive knowledge, and distinguished reputation, have been 
rarely equalled, and never surpassed. His celebrity as a 
public teacher in the University of Ley den, drew together 
crowds of pupils from all the surrounding countries. A 
person in China wrote a letter to him, addressed in the fol- 
lowing general manner : — " To the Illustrious Boerhaave, 
Europe ;*' which, notwithstanding, was as readily brought 
to him, as if his residence had been particularly specified. 

Chap. xv. ver. 29. — Michal — saw King David 
dancing and playing ; and she despised him in her 
heart. 

The Duke of Norfolk, seeing Sir Thomas More, when 
he was Lord Chancellor, sitting in the choir in his parish 
church, singing the service, said, " Fie, fie, my lord ! the 
Lord Chancellor of England a parish priest, and a paltry 
singing man ! You dishonour the King!" — "No, my 
lord," replied Sir Thomas, u it is no shame for the King 
if his servant serve his Sovereign and Saviour, who is the 
King of kings." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 43. — David returned to bless his 
house. 

Baron Auguste de Stael, grandson of Monsieur Neckar, 
Minister of Finance in France, was an experimental farmer 
at Coppet, on the borders of Switzerland, and a truly pious 
man. He visited England in quest of the means of im- 
proving his race of horses ; and one morning, at an early 

hour, he called upon Mr , who was to assist him with 

his advice in the purchase of some horses to take to Coppet. 
When introduced, he entered directly into conversation 
upon the immediate object of his visit, and which was a 
very interesting one, for both of them were warmly at- 
tached to the pursuits of agriculture. His friend, however, 
appeared to the baron to be somewhat embarrassed, and at 
length begged to be excused for a little while, only a short 
half hour; which he invited the baron to pass till his 
return, in looking over some engravings which he placed 






1 CHRONICLES XVIII. 179 

before him. The native politeness of the baron felt the 
great delicacy of having thus put his friend to inconve- 
nience, and he expressed his sorrow that he had thereby- 
rendered it necessary for him to apologize. His friend 
replied, " You must know, then, that this is just the time 
for our morning family prayers. My family and my ser- 
vants are all now assembled, and they wait only for me. 
You will be good enough, therefore, to pardon my request 
to leave you ; so soon as this duty, which we never omit, 
shall be concluded, I will return immediately to you." 
The baron at once said, " I have also a favour to beg of 
you : shall I be acting indiscreetly if I ask permission to 
join your family, and so unite with them in this pious 
duty ?" His friend granted with pleasure what the baron 
had asked with so much manifest desire, and he became 
witness of the serious and edifying manner in which the 
assembled family listened to the reading of the Scriptures, 
and to the prayers offered by his friend the head of the 
family. " How valuable for me were those delicious mo- 
ments," said the baron, " which I passed in the bosom of 
that happy family, where, when I entered, I had no other 
expectation than to receive some advice upon the purchase 
of horses !" 

Chap. xvii. ver. 16. — Who am I — that thou hast 
brought me hitherto ? 

The works of the late Rev. John Newton were intro- 
duced to the notice of King George III. by the Earl of 
Dartmouth ; and the high estimation in which his Majesty 
held them, was communicated by the same nobleman to Mr 
N., when the worthy minister observed, " Who would have 
thought that I should ever preach to majesty !" 

Chap, xviii. ver. 14. — David — executed judgment 
and justice among all his people. 

Lord Chief Justice Holt was one of the ablest and most 
upright judges that ever presided in a court of justice. 
Such was the integrity and firmness of his mind, that he 
could never be brought to swerve in the least from what he 
esteemed law and justice. He was remarkably strenuous 
in nobly asserting, and as rigorously supporting, the liber- 
ties of the subject, to which he paid the greatest regard ; 
and would not even suffer a reflection, tending to depre™ 



180 1 CHRONICLES XXII. 

ciate them, to pass uncensured, or without a severe repri- 
mand. He lost his place, as Recorder of London, for re- 
fusing to expound the law suitably to the King's designs. 
He asserted the law with such intrepidity, that he incurred, 
by turns, the indignation of both Houses of Parliament. 

Chap. xix. ver. 13. — Be of good courage, and let 
us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and 
for the cities of our God. 

An officer of distinction and tried valour refused to ac- 
cept a challenge sent by a young officer, but returned the 
following answer : — " I fear not your sword, but the sword 
of my God's anger. I dare venture my life in a good 
cause, but cannot hazard my soul in a bad one. I will 
charge up to the cannon's mouth for the good of my coun- 
try, but I want courage to storm hell !" 

Chap. xx. ver. 6. — At Gath, there was a man of 
great stature. 

Maximinus, the Roman Emperor, was a man of gigantic 
stature, being reported to have been upwards of eight feet 
high, and of proportionable size and strength. He is said 
to have eaten forty pounds of flesh, and to have drunk six 
gallons of wine, each day. He was of a savage and cruel 
disposition, and a persecutor of the Christians. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 24. — I will not take that which is 
thine for the Lord, nor offer bumt-ofFerings without 
cost. 

A little girl at Lyons, in France, asked her mother to 
give her a small sum of money to subscribe to the Bible 
Society of that city. The mother, who was always anxious 
that her child should consider the ground of her actions, 
explained to her that she would not really herself be a sub- 
scriber unless it was with her own money ; and suggested 
to her that she might earn a trifle, if she liked to do some 
sewing beyond her usual work. The little girl gladly un- 
dertook this, and thus became a monthly subscriber with 
her oicn money. 

Chap. xxii. ver. 14. — Behold, in my trouble I 
have prepared for the house of the L ord an hundred 
thousand talents of gold. &c. 



1 CHRONICLES XXV. 181 

Lady Huntingdon ■, with an income of only £ 1200 a-year, 
did much for the cause of religion. She maintained the 
college she had erected, at her sole expense ; she erected 
chapels in most parts of the kingdom ; and she supported 
ministers who were sent to preach in various parts of the 
world. — A minister of the gospel, and a person from the 
country, once called on her ladyship. When they came 
out, the countryman turned his eyes towards the house, 
and, after a short pause, exclaimed, " What a lesson ! 
Can a person of her noble birth, nursed in the lap of gran- 
deur, live in such a house, so meanly furnished, — and shall 
I, a tradesman, be surrounded with luxury and elegance ? 
From this moment 1 shall hate my house, my furniture, 
and myself, for spending so little for God, and so much in 
folly." 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 30. — To stand every morning to 
thank and praise the Lord. 

One of the Moravian brethren, going very early one 
morning to let out their sheep, heard uncommonly sweet 
singing in a tent, and drawing near, found it was the head 
of the family performing his morning devotions with his 
people. Beckoning to the others to come, " We stood 
still," say the brethren in their diary, " and listened to this 
sweet melody with hearts exceedingly moved, and with 
eyes filled with tears, and thought these people were, no 
longer than two years ago, savage heathens, and now they 
sing to the Lamb that was slain, so charmingly that it 
strikes the inmost soul." 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 31. — These likewise cast lots. 

Josephus, the Jewish historian, on one occasion, had 
taken refuge in a cave, with forty desperate persons, who 
determined to perish rather than to yield to their enemies, 
and who proposed to kill him first, as the most honourable 
man in the company. When he could not divert them from 
their frantic resolution of dying, he had no other refuge 
than to engage them to draw lots who should be killed, the 
one after the other ; and, at last, only he and another re- 
mained, whom he persuaded to surrender to the Romans. 

Chap. xxv. ver. 8. — As well the small as the great, 
the teacher as the scholar. 



1 82 1 CHRONICLES XXVIII. 

Lewis the IX., King of France, was found instructing 
a poor kitchen-boy ; and being asked why he did so, re- 
plied, " The meanest person hath a soul as precious as my 
own, and bought with the same blood of Christ." 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 27. — Out of the spoils won in 
battles did they dedicate to maintain the house of the 
Lord. 

Mr Hooper, one of the assistant missionaries to the 
Choctaw Nation, in North America, relates in his journal 
the following affecting instance of benevolence while at 
Steubenville : — u What most of all affected our hearts was, 
that a poor African, who, it is believed, is a devout servant 
of God, came forward, and gave a coat, obtained by making 
brooms after performing his task in the field. Mr M f Curdy 
informed us, that both that man and his wife are praying 
souls. They are slaves. O ! is it not truly animating, is 
it not enough to touch the tenderest sensibilities of the 
soul, to see an Ethiopian in such circumstances, thus moved 
at hearing the Macedonian cry, and thus extending the 
hand of charity. Should every professed disciple of Christ 
make such sacrifices as did this poor African, at no distant 
period would the precious gospel be preached to all nations." 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 33, 34. — Ahithophel was the 
king's counsellor — and the general of the king's army 
was Joab. 

Mr Wathen, the celebrated oculist, in one of his inter- 
views with King George III., observed to his Majesty, u I 
have often thought of the words of Solomon, c When the 
righteous are in authority, the people rejoice ;' and if your 
Majesty could always appoint servants of that character, 
the voice of rejoicing would be heard throughout the em- 
pire." — " Wathen," replied the King, u these are the men 
I have sought ; but when I have required their services, I 
have often been disappointed ; for I find men distinguished 
by habits of piety prefer retirement ; and that, generally 
speaking, the men of the world must transact the world's 
business." 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 9. — Thou, Solomon my son, 
know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with 
a perfect heart, and with a willing mind, 



2 CHRONICLES I. 183 

The Rev. A. Duncan, in his Will, says, " I earnestly 
beseech my children, as they would have God's blessing 
and mine, that they set God before their eyes, walk in his 
ways, living peaceably in his fear, in all humility and meek- 
ness ; holding their course to heaven, and comforting them- 
selves with the glorious and fair-to-look-on heritage, which 
Christ hath consigned to them, and to all that love him. 
Now, farewell, sinful world, and all that is in thee ! Fare- 
well, dear wife, blessed partner of all my weals and woes ! 
Farewell, dear children, now no longer mine, for I have in 
faith turned you all over to the unerring care of Him that 
gave you to me, in hopes of meeting you in my prepared 
habitation above ! Farewell, Sabbaths, pulpit, and pulpit- 
work ; my delight, my joy, my soul's comfort ! Farewell, 
church, and all spiritual friends, till I meet you at home in 
glory !" 

Chap. xxix. ver. 5. — Who then is willhig to con- 
secrate his service this day unto the Lord ? 

A minister of the gospel, conversing with lady Hunting- 
don about the wants of a family that appeared to be in dis- 
tress, her ladyship observed, " I can do for them but very 
little. I am obliged to be a spectator of miseries which I 
pity, but cannot relieve ; for when I gave myself up to the 
Lord, I likewise devoted to him all my fortune, with this 
reserve, that I would take with a sparing hand what might 
be necessary for my food and raiment, and for the support 
of my children, should they live to be reduced. I was led 
to this from a consideration that there were many benevo- 
lent persons, who had no religion, who would feel for the 
temporal miseries of others, and help them ; but few, even 
among professors, who had a proper concern for the awful 
condition of ignorant and perishing souls. What, there- 
fore, I can save for a while out of my own necessaries I 
will give them ; but more I dare not take without being 
guilty of sacrilege." 



II. CHRONICLES. 

Chap. i. ver. 7. — In that night did God appear 



184 2 CHRONICLES IV. 

unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall 
give thee. 

As a little boy was paring an apple which had been given 
to him after dinner, the following question was put to him 
by a lady :— " Supposing God were to tell you he would 
give you whatever you chose to ask him for, what would 
you ask him to give you ?" — " Do you mean to eat ?*' in- 
quired the little boy. u No," replied the lady ; u I mean 
of all things you can think of that you like, what would 
you ask him for ?" The child laid down his apple, and 
seemed for a few seconds to be lost in thought ; then look- 
ing up at the lady, he answered, " I would ask God to give 
me a new heart." 

Chap. ii. ver. 6. — YHio am I then that I should 
build him an house ? 

u From low circumstances," says the late Mr Brown of 
Haddington, " God hath, by his mere grace, exalted the 
orphan to the highest station in the church ; and I hope 
hath given me some success, not only in preaching and in 
writing, but also in training up many for the ministry. He 
chose me to be his servant, and took me from the sheep- 
fold, from following the ewes great with young ; he brought 
me to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 
Lord, what am I, and what is my father's house, that thou 
hast brought me hitherto I" 

Chap. hi. ver. 1. — Solomon began to build the 
house of the Lord. 

Kristno, a converted Hindoo, made the following obser- 
vation in a conversation he had with some others : — " The 
Hindoos," said he, " when they have built a new house, 
consider it unclean and untenantable till they have perform- 
ed an offering, and then they take up their abode in it. So 
God, he does not dwell in earthly temples, however mag- 
nificent ; his residence is in the heart. But how shall he 
dwell with man ? The sacrifice of Christ must be offered : 
then the house, the heart, in which this sacrifice is re- 
ceived, becomes the habitation of God through the Spirit." 

Chap. iv. ver. 22. — The snuffers, and the basons, 
and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold. 

Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, in the time of King 



2 CHRONICLES VI. 185 

Edgar, sold the gold and silver vessels belonging to the 
church, to relieve the poor people during a famine, saying, 
46 There was no reason that the senseless temples of God 
should abound in riches, while his living temples were 
perishing with hunger." 

Chap. v. ver. 13. — They lifted up their voice with 
the trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments of music, 
and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good ; for 
his mercy endureth for ever. 

" Plutarch tells us," says Flavel, Ci that when Titus Fla- 
minius had freed the poor Grecians from the bondage with 
which they had been long ground by their oppressors, and 
the herald was to proclaim in their audience the articles of 
peace he had concluded for them, they so pressed upon 
them, (not half of them being able to hear,) that he was in 
great danger to have lost his life in the press ; at last, read- 
ing them a second time, when they came to understand dis- 
tinctly how their case stood, they shouted for joy, crying, 
$ A Saviour ! A Saviour !' that they made the very heavens 
ring again with their acclamations, and the very birds fell 
down astonished. And all that night the poor Grecians, 
with instruments of music and songs of praise, danced and 
sung about his tent, extolling him as a god that had deliver- 
ed them. But surely you have more reason to be exalting 
the Author of your salvation, who, at a dearer rate, had 
freed you from a more dreadful bondage. O ye that have 
escaped the eternal wrath of God, by the humiliation of the 
Son of God, extol your great Redeemer, and for ever ce- 
lebrate his praises." 

Chap. vi. ver. 29, 30. — What prayer, or what sup- 
plication soever shall be made of any man, or of all 
thy people Irsael, when every one shall know his own 
sore, and his own grief, and shall spread forth his 
hands in this house : — then hear thou from heaven 
thy dwelling-place. 

The Rev. Mr Nicholson, a pious minister in England, 
was, at a former period of his life, excessively attached to 
dancing and card-playing ; and breaking off these, he suf- 
fered a great conflict. He made many vows, and offered 
many prayers against them ; but was still overcome by the 
power of temptation ; — yet an old puritanic saying which 
Q 2 



186 2 CHKONICLES VIII. 

he met with in a magazine, forcibly impressed his mind ; 
" That praying will make a man leave off sinning ; or sin- 
ning will make him leave off praying." u Well, then,'* 
said Mr N., " I will pray against my sins as long as I have 
breath to do it." The Lord heard him, and delivered 
him from the temptation of which he complained. 

Chap. vii. ver. 13. — If I send pestilence among 
my people. 

A dreadful plague raged at Moscow, in the year 1771* 
The physicians were, therefore, called together, to give 
their opinion as to the nature of the disease. All, except 
one, agreed that it was the plague. Measures were taken 
to prevent its becoming general ; and most of the principal 
families quitted the city. But the winter proving extremely 
severe, and few new cases occurring, all fear of the plague 
ceased ; the city was again filled with inhabitants. On the 
11th of March, the physicians were again assembled, the 
disease having appeared in a factory where 3000 persons 
were employed in making clothes. At the end of July, 
the number of deaths in the city, which does not in general 
exceed fifteen in a day, amounted to two hundred ; in the 
middle of August to four hundred ; at the end of August 
to six hundred ; and by the middle of September to more 
than a thousand in a day ! The plague was considered as 
a mark of the divine vengeance for having neglected the 
worship of God. The deaths continued in the proportion 
of twelve hundred a-day, till the 10th of October, when in 
the mercy of God, they began to diminish, and by the close 
of the year, the plague ceased in Moscow, and in the whole 
Russian empire. Seventy thousand persons are said to 
have been cut off by this awful visitation ; nearly one-half 
of the whole population." 

Chap. viii. ver. 18. — Huram sent him — ships, and 
servants that had knowledge of the sea. 

When the late Rev. Charles Buck was once preaching 
in Silver Street chapel, a sailor passing along, seeing a gate- 
way which seemed to lead to a place of worship, thought 
within himself, u Iam shortly going to sea, I shall perhaps 
never have another opportunity ; 1 will go in." During 
the sermon, something so deeply impressed his mind, that 
he determined to inquire the name of the preacher, which 



2 CHRONICLES IX. 187 

he never forgot. He went to sea, and all his impressions 
wore away ; but after his return he was taken ill, and was 
visited by some pious gentlemen, who found him very igno- 
rant. He acknowledged his neglect of divine things, but 
said there was a religion which he liked, and that was what 
he once heard a Mr Buck preach, in Silver Street chapel. 
They continued their visits, and at length witnessed his 
happy death. One of his last expressions was, " I now 
take my cable, and fix it on my anchor, Jesus, and go 
through the storm." But what makes this circumstance 
more interesting, is, that the landlord of the house where 
this sailor was lodging, was himself brought to a state of 
repentance, by listening at the door to hear what was going 
on between this man and his pious visitors. 

Chap. ix. ver. 7- — Happy are these thy servants, 
which stand continually before thee, and hear thy 
wisdom. 

The advantage of serving in a pious family, and receiv- 
ing the benefit of religious instruction, will appear from 
the last mentioned of the two following cases, which is 
rendered more apparent from the contrast presented in the 
first :— 

Esther and Mary Jones were orphans, who, as soon as 
they were old enough to go to service, were received into 
opulent families. Esther's mistress was a lover of pleasure, 
rather than a lover of God. She ran the round of folly and 
amusement through the week, and on the Sabbath received 
company at home. Her servants had no time to attend to 
their souls, and they soon ceased to remember that they 
were immortal. Poor Esther learned of her mistress to 
love dress, and to play at cards ; she frequented the theatres 
whenever it was in her power ; and proceeding from step to 
step in vice, she was hurried in her thoughtless career into 
an untimely grave. — Her sister, meanwhile, had been placed 
by Providence among the excellent of the earth. Morning 
and evening the household was assembled for prayer. A 
portion of each was devoted to the study of the Bible ; 
and on Sabbath evenings the master and mistress imparted 
religious instruction to their domestics, and inquired how 
former instructions prospered. Mary soon became a Chris- 
tian, and, by a holy life, manifested her love to her God and 
Saviour. She, too ; died young, but her latter end was 



188 2 CHRONICLES XIII. 

peace ; and to the last she blessed God for having appointed 
her lot in a pious family. 

Chap. x. ver. 4. — Ease thou somewhat the grievous 
servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he 
put upon us, and we will serve thee. 

In answer to a petition of the Lord Mayor and Alder- 
men of the City of London, to George I. in 1718, his 
Majesty said, " I shall be glad, not only for your sakes, but 
my own, if any defects, which may touch the rights of my 
good subjects, are discovered in my time, since that will 
furnish me with the means of giving you and all my people 
an indisputable proof of my tenderness of their privileges." 

Chap. xi. ver. 15. — He ordained him priests for 
the high places (2 Kings xii. 13. — He made priests of 
the lowest of the people.) 

When Bishop Andrews first became bishop of Win ton, 
a distant relation, a blacksmith, applied to him to be or- 
dained, and provided with a benefice. " No," said his 
lordship, " you shall have the best forge in the country : 
but every man in his own order and station." 

Chap. xii. ver. 2. — Shishak king of Egypt came up 
against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against 
the Lord. 

A noble English captain, who, when Calais was lost, 
(which was the last footing the British had in France) 
being jeered by a Frenchman, and asked, " Now, English- 
man, when will you come back to France ?" replied, " O 
Sir, mock not, when the sins of France are greater than 
the sins of England, the Englishmen will come again to 
France." 

Chap. xiii. ver. 9. — A priest of them that are no 
gods. 

When the altars were overthrown, and the idols burnt, in 
Huahine, a South Sea island, the image of Oro, their prin- 
cipal god, was also demanded by the regenerators of their 
country, that execution might be done upon it. An old 
priest, in attendance on the god, seeing his craft in danger, 
hid the god — a shapeless log of timber — in a cave among the 
rocks. Hautia, the person engaged in destroying these 
remains of idolatry, was not, however, to be trifled with, 



2 CHRONICLES XV. 189 

nor could such a nuisance as the pestilent stock, to which 
human "beings had been sacrificed, be permitted to exist any- 
longer on the face of the earth, lest the plague of idolatry 
should again break out among its reclaimed followers. He 
insisted upon its being brought forth, and committed to the 
flames, in presence of the people, who had but a day before 
trembled and fallen down before it. This was done ; but 
still the priest himself held to the superstition of his fathers, 
though he had seen their god consumed to ashes by mortal 
men with impunity ; and he ceased not to spurn at the reli- 
gion of the strangers, till one Sabbath morning, when, in 
contempt of the day, he went out to work in his garden^ 
on returning to his house, he became blind in a moment. 
This awful dispensation appears to have been blessed to 
him, and while blindness fell on his outward, light fell on 
his inward vision ; and his conduct since has been confor- 
mable to his profession. 

Chap.xiv. ver. 11, 12. — Help us, O Lord our God; 
for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against 
this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God ; let not 
man prevail against thee. — So the Lord smote the 
Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah ; and the 
Ethiopians fled. 

A remarkable instance of attention to the blessing of th e 
Divine Being, was exhibited in the conduct of the valiant 
and pious Admiral Duncan, previous to his celebrated 
action at Camperdown. During the awful moments of 
preparation, he called all his officers upon deck, and in their 
presence prostrated himself in prayer before the God of 
Hosts, committing himself and them, with the cause they 
maintained, to his sovereign protection, his family to his 
care, his soul and body to the disposal of his providence. 
Rising then from his knees, he gave command to make the 
attack, and achieved one of the greatest victories in the an- 
nals of England. 

Chap. xv. ver. 5. — In those times there was no 
peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in. 

Of the pious and excellent Mr Shaw, a friend writes, — 
u I have known him spend part of many days, and nights 
too, in religious exercises, when the times were so danger- 



190 2 CHRONICLES XVII. 

our, that it would hazard an imprisonment to be worship- 
ping God with five or six people like-minded with himself. 
I have sometimes been in his company for a whole night to- 
gether, when we have been obliged to steal to the place in 
the dark, and stop in the voice by cloathing and fast closing 
the windows, till the first day-break down a chimney has 
given us notice to be gone." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 10. — Asa was wroth with the seer, 
and put him in the prison-house, for he was in a rage 
with him because of this tiling. 

Mr Rumsey, a pious physician, speaking of his sinful in- 
firmities, observed, u I have to lament the irritability of my 
temper in my old age." He had been fond of repeating a 
conversation which he had in the early part of his life with 
a pious friend. He observed to this person, that he thought 
if he arrived at old age, he should be subject to fewer temp- 
tations than at an earlier period ; but his more experienced 
friend told him, that " the devil had a bait for every age," 
and Mr Kumsey was at length fully convinced of the truth 
and value of the remark. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 9.—- They taught in Judah, and 
had the book of the law of the Lord with them, and 
went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and 
taught the people. 

The Rev. S. Blair, and the Rev. William Tennant, were 
sent by the synod on a mission to Virginia. They stopped 
one evening at a tavern for the night, where they found a 
number of persons, with whom they supped in a common 
room. After supper, cards were introduced, when one of 
the gentlemen politely asked them if they would not take 
a cut with them, not knowing that they were clergymen. 
Mr T. pleasantly answered, " With all my heart, gentle- 
men, if you can convince us that thereby we can serve our 
Master's cause, or contribute any thing towards the success 
of our mission." This drew some smart reply from the 
gentlemen ; when Mr T. with solemnity added, " We are 
ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ ; we profess ourselves 
his servants ; we are sent on his business, which is to per- 
suade mankind to repent of their sins, to turn from them, 
and to accept of that happiness and salvation which are 
offered in the gospel." This very unexpected reply, deli- 



2 CHRONICLES XIX. 1Q1 

vered in a tender, though solemn manner, and with great 
apparent sincerity, so engaged the attention of the gentle- 
men, that the cards were laid aside, and an opportunity was 
afforded for explaining, in a social conversation during the 
rest of the evening, some of the leading doctrines of the 
gospel, to the satisfaction and apparent edification of the 
hearers. 

Chap, xviii. ver. 26, 27. — Put this fellow in the pri- 
son, -and feed him with bread of affliction, and with 
water of affliction, until I return in peace. — And Mi- 
caiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then 
hath not the Lord spoken by me. 

In October 1663, Mr Steel, and Mr Philip Henry, two 
non-conformist ministers, together with some of their 
friends, were apprehended, and brought prisoners to Han- 
mer, under pretence of some plot said to be on foot against 
the government ; and there they were kept under confine- 
ment some days ; on which Mr Henry writes : — u It is 
sweet being in any condition with a clear conscience. c The 
sting of death is sin,' and so of imprisonment also. It is 
the first time I was ever a prisoner, but perhaps may not be 
the last. We felt no hardship, but we know not what we 
may." Being soon after dismissed, Mr Henry returned to 
his tabernacle with thanksgivings to God, and a hearty 
prayer for his enemies, that God would forgive them. The 
very next day after they were released, Sir Evan Lloyd, 
governor of Chester, at whose instigation they were brought 
into that trouble, died, as was reported, of a drunken sur- 
feit. 

Chap. xix. ver. 9. — Jehoshaphat said to the judges, 
Take heed what ye do : for ye judge not for man, 
but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. 

Peter the Great frequently surprised the magistrates by 
his unexpected presence in the cities of the empire. Hav- 
ing arrived without previous notice at Olonez, he went first 
to the regency, and inquired of the governor how many 
suits were depending in the court of chancery ? " None, 
sire," replied the governor. " How happens that ?" u I 
endeavour to prevent law-suits, and conciliate the parties ; 
I act in such a manner that no traces of difference remain 
on the archives ; if I am wrong, your indulgence will ex- 



192 2 CHRONICLES XXII. 

cuse me." " I wish/' replied the Czar, ec that all governors 
would act on your principles. Go on, God and your sove- 
reign are equally satisfied.' ' 



Chap. xx. ver. 22. — When they began to sing and 
to praise, the Lord set ainbushaients against the chil- 
dren of Amnion, Moab, and mount Seir, which were 
come against Judah : and they were smitten. 

We have often heard of prayer doing wonders ; but in- 
stances also are not wanting, of praise being accompanied 
with signal events. The ancient Britons, in the year 420, 
obtained a victory over an army of the Picts and Saxons, 
near Mold, in Flintshire. The Britons unarmed, having 
Germanus and Lupus at their head, when the Picts and 
Saxons came to the attack, the two commanders, Gideon- 
like, ordered their army to shout Alleluia three times over, 
at the sound of which, the enemy, being suddenly struck 
with terror, ran away in the greatest confusion, and left the 
Britons masters of the field. A stone monument, to per- 
petuate the remembrance of this Halleluiah victory, is said 
to remain to this day in a field near Mold. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 4. — When Jehoram was risen up to 
the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, 
and slew all his brethren with the sword. 

Upon the death of Selimus the Second, which happened 
in the year 1582, Amurah the Third succeeded in the 
Turkish empire ; at his entrance upon which he caused his 
five brothers, Mustapha, Solymon, Abdalla, Osman, and 
Sinagar, without pity or commiseration, to be strangled in 
his presence, and gave orders that they should be burned 
with his dead father ; an ordinary thing with Mahometan 
princes, who, to secure to themselves the empire without 
rivalship, hesitate not to pollute their hands with the blood 
of their nearest relations. It is said of this Amurah, when 
he saw the fatal bow-string put about the neck of his 
younger brother, that he was seen to weep, but it seems they 
were crocodile tears, for he held firmly to his bloody purpose. 

Chap. xxii. ver. 4. — Ahaziah did evil in the sight 
of the Lord, like the house of Ahab : for they were 
his counsellors, after the death of his father, to his 
destruction. 



2 CHRONICLES XXIV. 193 

Taylor, the well-known infidel, was boasting one day, 
that the greater part of the youth in Great Britain had em- 
braced his sentiments. " O," said a gentleman present, 
u I have till now been unable to account for the increase of 
juvenile delinquency, but your assertion puts the matter 
beyond doubt." Taylor, as may easily be imagined, was 
quite confounded, and unable to reply. 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 11. — They brought out the king's 
son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the 
testimony, and made him king. 

Robert Barclay, the defender of the Quakers, dedicated 
his Apology to Charles II., and addressed his Majesty in 
the following words : — a There is no king in the world who 
so experimentally testifies of God's providence and good- 
ness ; neither is there any who rules so many free people, 
so many true Christians ; which thing renders thy govern- 
ment more honourable, thyself more considerable, than the 
accession of many nations filled with slavish and superstitious 
souls. Thou hast tasted of prosperity and adversity, know- 
est what it is to be banished thy native country, to be over- 
ruled as well as to rule and sit upon the throne — and being 
oppressed, thou hast reason to know how hateful the op- 
pressor is both to God and man. If, after all those warnings 
and advertisements, thou doest not turn to the Lord with 
all thy heart, but forget him who remembereth thee in thy 
distress, and give up thyself to follow lust and vanity, sure- 
ly great will be thy condemnation." 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 21. — They conspired against 
Zechariah, and stoned him with stones. 

Mr Whitefield, preaching one Sabbath afternoon, in Ox- 
mantour- Green, a place frequented by the Ormond and 
Liberty boys, as they call them, narrowly escaped with his. 
life. Being war time, he took occasion to exhort his hear- 
ers not only to fear God, but to honour the king ; and 
prayed for success to the king of Prussia. In the time of 
sermon and prayer, a few stones were thrown at him, which 
did no hurt. But when he was done, and thought of re- 
turning home the way he came, to his great surprise, access 
was denied ; and he was obliged to go nearly half a mile 
from one end of the Green to the other, through hundreds 
of papists, &c, who, rinding him unattended, threw volleys 

R 



194 2 CHRONICLES XXVI. 

of stones upon him from all quarters, and made him reel 
backwards and forwards, till he was almost breathless and 
all over with blood. At last, with great difficulty, he stag- 
gered to the door of a minister's house, which was kindly 
opened to him. For a while he continued speechless, and 
panting for breath ; but his weeping friends having given 
him some cordials, and washed his wounds, a coach was 
procured, in which, amidst the oaths, imprecations, and 
threatening of the popish rabble, he got safe home, and 
joined in a hymn of thanksgiving with his friends. In a 
letter, written just after this event, he says, — " I received 
many blows and wounds ; one was particularly large, and 
near my temples. I thought of Stephen, and was in hopes, 
like him, to go off in this bloody triumph, to the immediate 
presence of my Master." 

Chap. xxv. ver. 16. — I know that God hath deter- 
mined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, 
and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. 

A man at New Orleans, set out on a Sabbath morning 
to cross a river, on some worldly business. As he could 
find no boat, but one which was fastened to a tree by a rock, 
he attempted to get that. Some persons who were present re- 
quested him to desist from his purpose. But he replied, that 
he would either go to the other side of the river, or to hell. 
He therefore broke the lock, and entered the boat. But he 
had not gone far, when it upset. The spectators were so 
impressed that it was a judgment from God, that they stood 
amazed, till it was too late to afford him any help, and he 
was launched into a boundless eternity, in the midst of his 
impiety. 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 6. — Uzziah went forth and war- 
red against the Philistines, and broke down the wall 
of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of 
Aslidod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among 
the Philistines. 

" In the time of the Crusades," says H aimer, " when 
the ancient city of the Philistines, called Askelon, had fre- 
quently made inroads into the territories of the kingdom of 
Jerusalem, the Christians built two strong castles, not far 
from Askelon ; and finding the usefulness of these struc- 
tures, King Fulk, in the spring of the year of our Lord 



2 .CHRONICLES XXVIII. 19^ 

1138, attended by the patriarch of Jerusalem and his other 
prelates, proceeded to build another castle, called Blanche 
Guarda, which he garrisoned with such soldiers as he could 
depend upon, furnishing them with arms and provisions. 
These, watching the people of Askelon, often defeated their 
attempts; and sometimes they did not content themselves 
with being on the defensive, but attacked them, and did 
them great mischief, gaining the advantage. This occa- 
sioned those who claimed a right to the adjoining country, 
encouraged by the neighbourhood of such a strong place, 
to build many villages, in which many families dwelt, con- 
cerned in tilling the ground, and raising provisions for other 
parts of their territories. Upon this the people of Askelon, 
finding themselves encompassed round by a number of inex- 
pugnable fortresses, began to grow very uneasy at their situa- 
tion, and to apply to Egypt for help by repeated messages." 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 2. — Jotham did that which was 
right in the sight of the Lord. 

Julius Drusus, a Roman tribune, had a house that in 
many places lay exposed to the view of the neighbourhood. 
A person came and offered, that for five talents he would 
so alter it, that it should not be liable to that inconvenience. 
" I will give thee ten talents," said Drusus, u if thou canst 
make my house conspicuous in every room of it, that so all 
the city may behold in what manner I lead my life." It 
would be well for us to recollect, that we are all thus con- 
tinually exposed to the eye of God. 

** Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, 
We are surrounded still with God." 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 15. — The men rose up and took 
the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were 
naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them 
and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, 
and carried all the feehle of them upon asses, and 
brought them to Jericho, the city of palm-trees, to 
their brethren. 

The Rev. William Gordon, minister of Alvey in Kincar- 
dineshire, was one of the most ardent of the Scottish royal- 
ists of 1745. During all the troubles, previous to the de- 
cisive conflict of Culloden, he delivered from the pulpit ani- 
mating exhortations to his flock, to hold themselves in readi- 



196 2 CHRONICLES XXIX. 

ness to shed the last drop of their blood in defending the 
throne, which formed the sole barrier between their religious 
privileges and sweeping destruction. Yet when the rebels 
were scattered, wounded, outlawed, and pursued by the arm 
of justice, this benevolent pastor was the bold advocate and 
agent of mercy, professing, that as gratitude for a signal 
deliverance from ecclesiastical despotism, and as Christians 
forgiving their enemies, every loyal subject should obliterate 
all remembrance of the injuries they suffered from the op- 
posite party, and relieve their wants and distresses. When 
the hostile armies were known to have moved northward, 
Mr Gordon ordered a large quantity of malt to be brewed 
into ale, and huge piles of oat cakes to be prepared, telling 
his wife that he was sure many unfortunate men must pass 
that way, and all ought to have meat and drink, with dress- 
ings for their wounds, whatever might be the side they had 
espoused. After the battle of Culloden, great numbers of 
officers and men received refreshments from Mrs Gordon ; 
and every part of the house, except one room, was filled with 
the wounded. 

Chap, xxix. ver. 11. — My sons, be not now ne- 
gligent ; for the Lord hath chosen yon to stand before 
him, to serve him, and that ye shonld minister nnto 
him. 

The Rev. T. Charles of North Wales, at a time when 
unemployed in the ordinary work of his ministry, and hesi- 
tating what steps he should take in a change contemplated 
by him, had the following striking dream : — The day of 
judgment, with all its awful accompaniments, appeared to 
him. He saw millions assembled before the Judge ; and 
what attracted his notice particularly, was the trial of the idle 
and slothful servant, as recorded in Matth. xxv. He ima- 
gined these dreadful sounds uttered from the judgment- 
seat, — " Take him, and bind him hand and foot, and cast 
him into outer darkness ; there shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth." He thought this a representation of 
his own case ; it seemed to say to him, as Nathan said to 
David, " Thou art the man." When he awoke, he felt 
greatly alarmed. The dream distressed him exceedingly. 
The fear of being like the idle and unprofitable servant 
greatly harassed his mind. Having such a dream when he 
was doing nothing, he could not but be much affected by it. 



2 CHRONICLES XXX. 197 

It bore every appearance of being sent as a warning to him ; 
and, by his subsequent activity, he appears to have im- 
proved it to the best of purposes. 

Chap. xxx. ver. 10,-— They laughed them to scorn, 
and mocked them. 

Some time ago, a man was tried at Cambridge, for a 
robbery committed on an aged gentlewoman in her own 
house. The judge was Baron Smith, a man of an amiable 
character for religion. He asked the gentlewoman, if the 
prisoner at the bar was the person who robbed her ? — 
" Truly, my Lord," said she, " 1 cannot positively say it 
was he, for it was duskish when I was robbed, so dark that 
I could hardly discern the features of his face/' " Where 
were you when he robbed you ?" "I was in a closet that 
joins to my bed-chamber, and he had got into my house 
while my servant had gone out on an errand." " What 
day of the week was it ?" " It was the Lord's day even- 
ing, my lord." " How had you been employed when he 
robbed you ?" " My lord, I am a Protestant dissenter ; 1 
had been at the meeting that day, and had retired into my 
closet in the evening for prayer and meditation on what I 
had been hearing through the day." She had no sooner 
uttered these words, than the court, which was crowded 
with some hundreds of students, rang with a peal of loud 
laughter. The judge looked round the court as one as- 
tonished, and with a decent solemnity laid his hands upon 
the bench, as if he was going to rise, and with no small 
emotion of spirit, spoke to the following effect : — " Good 
God ! where am I ? Am I in the place of one of the uni- 
versities of this kingdom, where, it is to be supposed, that 
young gentlemen are educated in the principles of religion, 
as well as in all useful learning ? and for such to laugh in 
so indecent a manner, on hearing an aged Christian tell 
that she retired into her closet on a Lord's day evening, for 
prayer and meditation ! Blush and be ashamed all of you, 
if you are capable of it, as well you may ; and if any of 
your tutors are here, let them blush also to see in how ir- 
religious a manner their pupils and students behave." And 
then turning to the lady, he said, ct Don't be discouraged, 
Madam, by this piece of rude and unmannerly, as well as 
irreligious usage ; you have no reason to be ashamed of 
what you have on this occasion, and in this public manner, 
B 2 



198 2 CHRONICLES XXXIII. 

said ; on the contrary, you may glory in it. It adds dig- 
nity to your character, and shame belongs to them who 
would expose it to ridicule." 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 5. — The tithe of all things brought 
they in abundantly. 

At the conclusion of a meeting of a religious society con- 
nected with Surrey Chapel, a gentleman on the platform 
arose and said, " I hope every one will give a little," Upon 
which the venerable Rowland Hill got up, and exclaimed 
in a voice and manner truly characteristic, " I hope every 
one will give a deal," 

Chap, xxxii. ver. 16. — His servants spake yet more 
against the Lord God, and against Ins servant He- 
zekiah. 

There was in a populous Swiss village a pious and ex- 
cellent clergyman, who preached and lived with such holy 
zeal and exemplary piety, that many were converted under 
his ministry. But there lived in the same place a wicked 
and abandoned character, who not only slighted all the 
means of grace, but turned the most serious matters into 
ridicule, and made a laughing-stock of the preacher's expres- 
sions. One morning, he came very early to the public 
house, and began to intoxicate himself with liquor, profan- 
ing the name and word of God, and ridiculing the term of 
conversion. " Now," says he, " I myself will become a 
convert," turning himself from one side to the other, and 
dancing about in the room with a variety of foolish gestures. 
He quickly left the room, fell down the stairs, broke his 
neck, and expired, exhibiting an awful monument of God's 
most righteous vengeance, which sometimes even in this life 
overtakes those that profane his holy name. 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 15. — He took away the strange 
gods, and the idol out of the house of the Lord, and 
all the altars that he had built in the mount of the 
house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them 
out of the city. 

Some years before the revolution in France, a lady, who 
was a bookseller in Paris, attracted by the reputation of 
Father Beauregard, an eloquent preacher, went to the church 
of Notre-Dame to hear him. His discourse was particularly 



2 CHRONICLES XXXIV. 199 

levelled against irreligious books ; and the lady had cause 
enough to reproach herself on that account, having been in 
the habit of selling many publications which were contrary 
to religion and good manners. Interest had blinded her, as 
it does many others in the same line of business ; but pene- 
trated by the sermon, she was convinced that impious and 
licentious books poison the mind ; and she was compelled 
to acknowledge, that those who print, or sell, or contribute 
to circulate them in any way whatever, are so many public 
poisoners, whom God will, one day, call to account for the 
evils they occasion. Impressed with these sentiments, she 
went to the preacher, and, with tears in her eyes, said to 
him, " You have rendered me a great service, by giving me 
to see how culpable I have been in selling many impious 
books ; and I entreat you to finish the good work you have 
begun, by taking the trouble to come to my warehouse to 
examine all the books which are in it, and to put aside all 
those which may be injurious to morals or religion. What- 
ever it cost me, I am determined to make the sacrifice : I 
had rather be deprived of a part of my property, than con- 
sent to lose my soul." Accordingly, Father Beauregard 
paid her a visit next day to examine her books. When he 
had separated the good from the bad, she took the latter, 
and, in his presence, cast them, one after another, into a 
great fire she had taken care to provide. The price of the 
works thus consumed, amounted, it is said, to about 6000 
livres. She made the sacrifice without regret ; and, from 
that time, endeavoured to sell no books but what might 
tend to counteract the evil done by others. While most 
will admire this example, few, it is to be feared, will 
follow it. 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 27. — Thine heart was tender, 
and thou didst humble thyself before God. 

A lady who had been in company with the late Mr Hall 
of Bristol, and who had been speaking of the Supreme 
Being with great familiarity, but in religious phraseology, 
having retired, he said, " I wish I knew how to cure that 
good lady of her bad habit. I have tried, but as yet in 
vain. It is a great mistake to affect this kind of familiari- 
ty with the King of kings, and speak of him as though he 
were a next-door neighbour, from the pretence of love. Mr 
Boyle's well known habit was infinitely to be commended. 



200 2 -CHRONICLES XXXVI. 

And one of our old divines, I forget which, well remarks, 
that 'Nothing but ignorance can be guilty of this boldness ; 
that there is no divinity but in a humble fear, no philosophy 
but shows itself in silent admiration !" 

Chap. xxxv. ver. 24. — Ail Judah and Jerusalem 
mourned for Josiali. 

The Rev. James Hervey was buried under the middle of 
the communion-table in the chancel of Weston-Favel, on 
Friday the 28th of December 1758, in the presence of a 
numerous congregation, full of regret for the loss of so ex- 
cellent a pastor. A person who was present says, " Mr 
Maddock (Mr Hervey's curate) was in tears ; some were 
wringing their hands, others sobbing ; many were silently 
weeping, but all seemed inwardly and sincerely grieved, as 
their looks sufficiently testified ; bearing a visible witness of 
his worth and their sorrow." 

Chap, xxxvi. ver. 16. — The}" mocked the messen- 
gers of God, and despised his words, and misused 
his prophets. 

" I have generally," says one of the Baptist missionaries 
in India, " been three or four hours every day in actual con- 
tact with the people. Frequently I go and return in good 
spirits, but sometimes I am low enough. Good spirits are 
commonly necessary to dealing with my poor people, for 
there is generally a great deal among them that is very pro- 
voking. I frequently tell them that it is a regard to their 
welfare that leads me to do as I do ; and the declaration is 
received with a sneer. On two or three occasions, a num- 
ber of little children have been officiously seated before me, 
as an intimation that I say nothing worthy the attention of 
men. The people often call after me as I go about : One 
cries, c Juggernaut ! Juggernaut!' another perhaps says 
with a contemptuous smile, ' Won't you give me a book ?' 
Soon after, perhaps a third says, c Sahib ! I will worship 
Jesus Christ !' and a fourth exclaims, c Victory to Jugger- 
naut the Kuler P Among these infatuated people, I fear 
that the utmost propriety in spirit and demeanour would be 
no protection from very frequent insults. In spite of the 
most affectionate addresses of which I am capable, and in 
the midst of them, the people, in malicious derision, shout, 
1 Juggernaut ! Juggernaut !' and seem determined, as it 



EZRA III. 201 

were, with one heart and voice, to support their idols, and 
resist Jesus Christ. I hope he will, ere long, act for him- 
self ; and then floods of pious sorrow will stream from the 
haughtiest eyes, and the grace now scorned will be sought 
with successful earnestness." 



EZRA. 



Chap. i. ver. 4. — The free-will offering for the 
house of God. 

" It has been frequently wished by Christians," says the 
late Dr Payson of America, " that there were some rule 
laid down in the Bible, fixing the proportion of their pro- 
perty which they ought to contribute to religious uses. This 
is as if a child should go to his father and say, < Father, 
how many times in the day must I come to you with some 
testimonial of my love ? How often will it be necessary to 
show my affection for you ?' The father would of course 
reply, ' Just as often as your feelings prompt you, my child, 
and no oftener.' Just so Christ says to his people : c Look 
at me, and see what I have done and suffered for you, and 
then give me just what you think I deserve. I do not wish 
any thing forced/ " 

Chap. ii. ver. 68. — Some of the chief of the fathers, 
when they came to the house of the Lord winch is at 
Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God, to set 
it up in its place. 

cc I happened," says Dr Franklin, (C to attend one of Mr 
Whiteneld's sermons, in the course of which I perceived he 
intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved 
he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a 
handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and 
five pistoles of gold. As he proceeded, I began to soften, 
and conclude to give the copper. Another stroke of his 
oratory made me ashamed of that, and determined me to 
give the silver ; and he finished so admirably, that I emp- 
tied my pockets into the collector's dish, gold and all." 

Chap. iii. ver. 3. — Fear was upon them because 
of the people of those countries. 



202 EZRA v. 

The Hussites, driven out of their country by persecu- 
tion, sought an asylum in the mountains, the thickest 
forests, and the clefts and recesses of rocks, far removed 
from the society of other men. They kindled their fires 
only in the night, lest their places of retreat should be dis- 
covered by the smoke. And during the winter, when snow 
lay on the ground, they used the precaution, when going 
out, to walk one after the other, the last person dragging a 
bush after him to erase the marks of their feet. It may 
easily be conceived to what hardships the Brethren must 
have been exposed during this period. Yet all the priva- 
tions and sufferings they endured were amply compensated 
to them by the rewards of a good conscience, and the divine 
consolations they derived from the perusal of the Scriptures, 
and from spiritual conversation. In these exercises they 
often spent whole nights. 

Chap. it. ver. 15. — This city is a rebellious city, 
and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and they have 
moved sedition within the same. 

It was a frequent charge brought against the non-confor- 
mist ministers, that they were a factious and turbulent 
people ; that their meetings were for the sowing of sedition 
and discontent, and such like. The clergyman of White- 
well Chapel, where Mr Philip Henry used to attend, was 
sometimes an accuser of those good men. Referring to an 
occasion of this kind, Mr Henry writes :— " Mr Green at 
chapel to-day seemed to say something with reflection ; 
' Mark them that cause divisions, serving their own belly.' 
M Lord," adds the good man, " I can only appeal to thee, 
and say, if I seek myself in what I do, or my own things, 
and not the good of souls, and the advancement of thy glory ; 
if I do it in any respect to divide, then fill my face with 
shame, and let my enemies have power over me. But if 
Otherwise, Lord, take my part, and plead my cause, and 
clear my integrity, for thy mercy's sake." 

Chap. v. ver. 5. — The eye of their God was upon 
the elders of the Jews, that' they could not cause them 
to cease. 

During the revolution in France, the Ban de la Roche, 
(a mountainous canton in the north-east of that kingdom,) 
alone seemed to be an asylum of peace in the midst of war 



EZRA VII, 203 

and carnage. Though every kind of worship was interdict- 
ed throughout France, and almost all the clergy of Alsace, 
men of learning, talents, and property, were imprisoned, — 
John Frederic Oberlin, pastor of Waldbach, was allowed 
to continue his work of benevolence and instruction unmo- 
lested. His house became the retreat of many individuals 
of different religious persuasions, and of distinguished rank, 
who fled thither, under the influence of terror, from Stras- 
bourg and its environs, and who always received the most 
open-hearted and cordial reception, though it endangered 
his own situation. " I once," says a gentleman, who was 
then residing at Waldbach, " saw a chief actor of the re- 
volution in Oberlin's house, and in that atmosphere he 
seemed to have lost his sanguinary disposition, and to have 
exchanged the fierceness of the tiger for the gentleness of 
the lamb." 

Chap. vi. ver. 7. — Let the work of this house of 
God alone ; let the governor of the Jews, and the 
elders of the Jews, build tins house of God in his place. 

During the reign of George III., a bill was brought into 
the House of Commons, by Mr Michael Angelo Taylor, 
which would have materially abridged the rights of Dis- 
senters ; and it actually had gone through two readings 
without opposition, when it was stopped in its progress by 
the liberal interference of the king himself. His majesty 
sent for Mr Wyndham, who was then in administration, 
and said to him, " You may pass that bill through both 
houses as fast as you please, but I will never sign it ;" 
adding these emphatic words, " There shall be no persecu- 
tion in my reign." The bill was withdrawn, and no more 
was heard of it. 

Chap. vii. ver. 25. — Set magistrates and judges, 
which may judge all the people that are beyond the 
river, all such as know the laws of thy God ; and 
teach ye them that know them not. 

"In the year 1772," says one, " I spent the summer in 
London, and being upon a visit to a family at Ware, in 
Hertfordshire, we one day went to Hertford, it being the 
summer assizes. Lord Chief Baron Smith presided on the 
bench, whom I had heard much of, as being a godly and 
spiritual man, as well as an upright and judicious judge 



204 EZRA VIII* 

The first morning he sat at Nisi Prius, and I thought him 
very sensible and knowing, or, what the lawyers call, learn- 
ed, in his profession : but the next morning he had to try 
three criminals ; I forget the offences, but they were all 
capital, and the prisoners were tried separately, and found 
guilty. The venerable judge, in passing the sentence of 
the law upon them, was very solemn. He stated to them 
separately, the aggravation of the particular crime of each, 
and the necessity that the laws of the country, and the se- 
curity of the people, should be maintained by the punish- 
ment of the offenders, 6 which punishment,' he added, c I 
am now to denounce upon you ; this it is painful for me to 
do, but it is a duty imposed on me by my office to pro- 
nounce, That you be taken from hence to the place from 
whence you came,' &c. His subsequent address affected 
the audience, however it might the criminals : — 4 Prisoners, 
so we see that the law worketh wrath against transgressors, 
and the divine law on us and all mankind as sinners, who 
have come short of the glory of God. But God, who is 
rich in mercy, hath provided a glorious salvation, in which 
you and I may find abundant relief. He sent his own Son 
to seek and save the lost, and to give himself a sacrifice for 
sin, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life. The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son 
of God, clean seth from all sin. I am a sinner like you ; 
but pleading that blood, T found mercy ; and therefore re- 
commend that blood to you. Go ye and do likewise.' " 

Chap. viii. ver. 21. — I proclaimed a fast there, at 
the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves 
before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, 
and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 

The Rev. William Tennent was once passing through a 
town in the State of New Jersey, in America, in which he 
was a stranger, and had never preached ; and stopping at a 
friend's house to dine, was informed, that it was a day of 
fasting and prayer in the congregation, on account of a 
very severe drought, which threatened the most dangerous 
consequences to the fruits of the earth. His friend had 
just returned from church, and the intermission was but half- 
an-hour. Mr Tennent was requested to preach, and with 
great difficulty consented, as he wished to proceed on his 



EZRA IX. 205 

journey. At church, the people were surprised to see a 
preacher, wholly unknown to them, ascend the pulpit. His 
whole appearance, being in a travelling dress, covered with 
dust, wearing an old-fashioned large wig, discoloured like 
his clothes, and a long meagre visage, engaged their atten- 
tion, and excited their curiosity. On his rising up, instead 
of beginning to pray, as was the usual practice, he looked 
around the congregation with a piercing eye, and after a 
minute's profound silence, addressed them with great so- 
lemnity in the following words : — " My beloved brethren, 
I am told you have come here to-day to fast and pray : a 
very good work indeed, provided you have come with a 
sincere desire to glorify God thereby. But if your design 
is merely to comply with a customary practice, or with the 
wish of your church officers, you are guilty of the greatest 
folly imaginable, as you had much better have staid at 
home, and earned your three shillings and sixpence. But 
if your minds are indeed impressed with the solemnity of 
the occasion, and you are really desirous of humbling your- 
selves before Almighty God, your heavenly Father, come, 
join with me, and let us pray." This had an effect so ex- 
traordinary on the congregation, that the utmost seriousness 
was universally manifested. The prayer and the sermon 
added greatly to the impressions already made, and many 
had reason to bless God for this unexpected visit, and to 
reckon this day one of the happiest in their lives. 

Chap. ix. ver. 7. — For our iniquities have we been 
delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to 
the sword, captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion 
of face, as it is this day. 

The Rev. W. B. Lewis, in a letter of February 1824, 
says, " Those Jews in Jerusalem who endeavour to obtain 
a livelihood by the work of their hands, are frequently 
forced to give up their time, and to work for the ungrateful 
Turk without payment. Sometimes a mere trifle is thrown 
to the Jew ; but, in either case, if he attempts to reason 
with the Turk, he is threatened with the bastinado, and I 
know not what. — Rabbi Solomon P. is an engraver of 
seals. In the open street he was accosted by a Turk, who 
produced a large stone, and told him to cut out a seal. 
Solomon replied it was not in his power, for he only knew 
how to engrave, not to cut and prepare the stone. The 



206 NEHEMIAH I. 

Turk thereupon laid hold of him by his beard, drew hi* 
sword, kicked him, and cut and struck him unmercifully. 
The poor man cried, but there was no one to assist him. 
Turks in the street passed by unconcerned ; and the 
wounded Jew afterwards sought redress in vain from the 
officers of justice." 

Chap. x. ver. §. — Yet now there is hope in Israel 
concerning this thing. 

An old gentleman once said, " I cannot but lament my 
folly and madness, in not obeying the voice of conscience 
in my youth. By this time I might have been an old man 
in Christ ; but I am not born yet. Unhappy me ! but, by 
the grace of God, I will not give it up yet. There are 
promises which I can sometimes lay hold of. God helping 
me, I will go on to seek his face, and practise what I know." 



NEHEMIAH. 

Chap. i. ver. 4. — I sat down and wept, and mourn- 
ed certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the 
God of heaven. 

In a sea-port town in New England, lived a pious mo- 
ther, who had six daughters. At the age of sixty, she had 
been for many years the subject of disease, which confined 
her to her house, and almost to her room. To a christian 
friend she remarked, " I have not for these many years 
known what it is to go to the house of God, in company 
with his people, and to take sweet counsel with them. But 
I have another source of grief greater than this ; one that 
weighs down my spirits day and night, while disease and 
pain bear my body towards the grave. I have six daugh- 
ters ; two are married and live near me, and four are with 
me ; but not one of them is pious. I am alone. I have 
no one for a christian companion. O that even one of 
them were pious, that I might walk alone no longer !" Such 
was her language. She was evidently a woman of a sorrow- 
ful spirit, beseeching the Lord with much entreaty. Soon 
after this, a revival of religion commenced in the neigh- 
bourhood, of which her four single daughters were among 



NEHEMTAH III. 207 

the first subjects. A fifth was soon added to the number ; 
but the other, the eldest, was unmoved. " Mother," said 
one of the converts, " let us all unite in observing a day 
of fasting and prayer for our unawakened sister." The day 
was observed. Of this, the subject of their prayers had no 
knowledge ; but on the same day, while engaged in her 
domestic concerns at home, her mind was solemnly arrested, 
and she was soon after added to the christian sisterhood. 
The praying mother lived a few years to enjoy their chris- 
tian society ; and they were followers of her who was first 
removed to inherit the promises. 

Chap. ii. ver. 19.— They laughed us to scorn, and 
despised us. 

The Moravian missionaries in Greenland endured much 
mockery and opposition from the rude inhabitants, when 
communicating to them the knowledge of divine truth. 
When the missionaries told them they meant to instruct 
them about the will of God, they were met by the taunt, 
" Fine fellows, indeed, to be our teachers ! We know very 
well you yourselves are ignorant, and must be taught by 
others !" If they tarried more than one night with them, 
they used all their endeavours to entice them to participate 
in their wanton and dissolute sports ; and when they failed 
in this, they mocked and mimicked their reading, singing, 
and praying, practising every kind of droll antic ; or they 
accompanied their devotions by drumming or howling hide- 
ously. Nor did the poverty of the brethren escape their 
keenest ridicule, or most cutting sarcasms. They even 
pelted them with stones, climbed upon their shoulders, de- 
stroyed their goods, and maliciously tried to spoil their 
boat, or drive it out to sea. 

Chap. iii. ver. 1. — The high priest rose up, with 
his brethren the priests, and they builded. 

Two architects were once candidates for the building of 
a certain temple at Athens. The first harangued the crowd 
very learnedly upon the different orders of architecture, and 
showed them in what mariner the temple should be built. 
The other, who got up after him, only observed, " That 
what his brother had spoken he could do ;" and thus he 
at once gained the cause. Such is the difference between 
the speculative and practical Christian. 



208 NEHEMIAH VI. 

Chap. iv. ver. 3, 4. — Tobiah the Ammonite was 
by him ; and he said, Even that which they build, 
if a fox go up, he shall even break down then stone 
wall. Hear, O our God ; for we are despised : and 
turn their reproach upon their own head. 

Voltaire boasted, that with one hand he would overturn 
the edifice of Christianity, which required the hands of 
twelve apostles to build ; but at the present time, the very 
press which he employed at Ferney for printing his blas- 
phemous works, is actually used at Genoa for printing the. 
Holy Scriptures ; so that the very engine he set to work, to 
destroy the Bible, is now engaged in circulating its sacred 
truths. 

Chap. v. ver. 15. — The former governors, that had 
been before me, were chargeable unto the people, 
and had taken of them bread and wine, besides forty 
shekels of silver — but so did not I, because of the fear 
of God. 

The late Rev. Robert Hall of Bristol was much grieved 
with the want of economy in managing the finances of some 
of our public institutions. " When you consider, Sir," 
said he, " the sources from which these monies are derived, 
and the objects to which they are intended to be appropriat- 
ed, there ought to be no improvident expenditure of any 

kind. 1 know a Mr who is employed in travelling 

and collecting for the Bible Society ; he puts up at the 
principal inn in the place where he happens to visit, and 
rather than exert himself to rise early and travel in the stage 
coach, I have heard that he takes a post-chaise at the ex- 
pense of the society. These things ought not to be coun- 
tenanced. I invariably endeavour to travel on such occa- 
sions, Sir, outside of the coach, and when, from indisposi- 
tion, I am compelled to hire a post-chaise, I pay the extra 
expense out of my own pocket." 

Chap. vi. ver. II. — Should such a man as I flee? 
and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into 
the temple to save his life '( I will not go in. 

When the Danes laid siege to Canterbury, the principal 
inhabitants persuaded Alphage, the archbishop, to retreat. 
" God forbid," said he, " that I should tarnish my character 



NEHEMIAH VII. 209 

by such conduct, and be afraid to go to heaven because a 
violent death may be across the passage. — God be thanked, 
I do not know that I have given the enemy any- just occa- 
sion to use me ill. 'Tis true I have converted several 
of them to Christianity ; but if this be a fault, I shall 
be happy in suffering for it. What ! have I disobliged 
them by ransoming some of my countrymen^ and by sup- 
porting those in their captivity whom I was not able to re- 
deem ? If you think the Danes are enraged against me for 
reproving them for their immorality and injustice, I cannot 
help that, for unless I give a wicked man warning, his blood 
will be required at my hands. I think it unbecoming my 
station to desert my countrymen in time of danger, and 
make provision for myself. What can I be less than an 
hireling, if, when I see the wolf ready to devour my sheep, 
I presently run away, and leave them to shift for them- 
selves ? It is, therefore, my resolution to stand the shock, 
and submit to the order of Providence.'* The town was 
soon after taken, and the inhabitants plundered and mur- 
dered. Alphage could not bear to see the poor inhabitants 
suffer in that manner, and went and begged the Danes to 
spare the people, and turn their rage against him. They 
slew above 7000 of the people, and put the bishop in a 
dungeon for several months. They proposed to him to re- 
deem his liberty with the sum of £3000, but Alphage 
could not satisfy the demand. He was put to death at 
Greenwich in 1012. 

Chap. vii. ver. 3. — I said unto them, Let not the 
gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot ; 
and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, 
and bar them. 

Doubdan, an eastern traveller, returning from the river 
Jordan to Jerusalem, in 1652, tells us, " That when he and 
his companions arrived in the valley of Jehoshaphat, they 
were much surprised to find that the gates cf the city were 
shut, which obliged them to lodge on the ground at the 
door of the sepulchre of the blessed virgin, to wait for the 
return of day, along with more than a thousand other people, 
who were obliged to continue there the rest of the night, 
as well as they. At length, about four o'clock, seeing every 
body making for the city, they also set forwards, with the 
design of entering by St Stephen's gate, but they found it 
s 2 



210 NEHEMIAR IX. 

shut, and above two thousand people, who were there in 
waiting, without knowing the cause of all this. At first 
they thought it might be too early, and that it was not cus- 
tomary to open so soon ; but an hour after, a report was 
spread that the inhabitants had shut their gates, because the 
peasants of the country about had formed a design of pil- 
laging the city in the absence of the governor and of his 
guards, and that as soon as he should arrive the gates would 
be opened." 

Chap. viii. ver. 3. — The ears of all the people were 
attentive unto the book of the law. 

Mr Waddel, who went lately to the West Indies as a 
missionary, thus writes in his journal : — " After service was 
over, and I had gone into a room beside that in which I 
preached, the people, by a messenger, begged I would re- 
turn. Having done so, they all rose up, and several, in 
different parts of the room, in name of the rest, begged T 
would not go away, but reside among them, and preach to 
them the good word. I assured them it would make me 
quite happy to do so ; but that . Here they all inter- 
rupted me, crying out almost with one voice, c O stay and 
make us hear the gospel ; tell us the good word, and we 
will all hear it.' I said that I was glad to see them wishing 
to hear the good word of God, and I hoped that they would 
soon get the blessing they wanted, of a minister to live 
among them ; — if not me, yet some one else. i Thank you, 
massa ; God bless you,, massa,' they cried out, and then 
begged I would myself stop among them. I said, ( If it 
were the will of God, it would afford me great pleasure to 
do so.' c O, it is the will of God,' said they all immediately. 
I had often heard of the Macedonian cry, c Come over and 
help us,' but here I witnessed it." 

Chap. ix. ver. 13. — Thou gavest them right judg- 
ments and true laws, good statutes and command- 
ments. 

u For my part," says Mr Hervey, " I propose to addict 
myself with more incessant assiduity to this delightful and 
divine study of the book of God. Away, my Homer, I 
have no need of being entertained by you, since Job and 
the prophets furnish me with images much more magni- 
ficent, and lessons infinitely more important. Away, my 



NEHEMIAH XII. 211 

Horace ; nor shall I suffer any loss by your absence, while 
the sweet singer of Israel tunes his lyre, and inspirits mi, 
with the noblest strains of devotion ; and even my prime 
favourite, my Virgil, may withdraw, since in Isaiah I enjoy 
ail his correctness of judgment, and all his • beautiful pro- 
priety of diction." 

Chap. x. ver. 31. — If the people of the land bring 
ware, or any victuals, on the Sabbath-day to sell — we 
would not buy it of them on the Sabbath. 

Soon after the Rev. Mr Galland came to Holmfirth, in 
the West Riding of Yorkshire, he was grieved at the pro- 
fane custom of buying and selling on the LordVday, and 
set about reforming the abuse, not without some degree of 
success. He went through the village, and obtained a pro- 
mise from every individual concerned, to discontinue the 
practice if all the rest would. After succeeding thus far, 
he called them all together, and procured a joint agreement, 
that in future they would not buy or sell on the Sabbath. 

Chap. xi. ver. 14. — Zabdiel the son of one of the 
great men. 

Mr Samuel Hardy, a non-conformist minister, had a pe- 
culiar freedom in addressing persons of high rank, without 
any thing of rusticity. When Lord Brook lay on his death- 
bed, he went to him, and spoke to this effect ; — " My 
Lord, you of the nobility are the most unhappy men in the 
world : nobody dares to come near to you to tell you of your 
faults, or put you in the right way to heaven." Hereby he 
prepared the way for dealing closely with his Lordship, 
without giving him any offence. 

Chap. xii. ver. 43. — That day they offered great 
sacrifices, and rejoiced ; for God had made them re- 
joice with great joy. 

" On a Sabbath evening," says the Rev. Mr Stewart in 
his { Visit to the South Seas,' "while walking the main deck, 
I perceived an open-hearted young fellow, with whom I had 
formed some acquaintance, leaning against a gun ; and 

going up to him, said, c Well, J , how has the day gone 

with you V e One of the happiest I ever knew, Sir/ was 
his reply ; ' and I have heard many of the crew say the 
same. I never expected such a Sabbath at sea ; earth can 



212 NEHEMIAH XIII. 

scarce know a better/ Adding, on further conversation, 
' when I had been on board the Guerrier several weeks, 
before you, Sir, joined us, without any public worship, I 
began to fear I had made a bad choice in coming to this 
ship ; but I was mistaken ; this will be a happy voyage to 
me ; and I believe the time will yet come, when the ship 
herself will be called the happy Guerrier /' His face beam- 
ed with pleasure as he spoke, and I rejoiced to meet one so 
warm-hearted and seemingly pious." 

Chap. xiii. ver. 17. — I contended with the nobles 
of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is 
this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath-day ? 

The late venerable Bishop Porteus, when on the brink of 
the grave, felt that he could not depart in peace till he had 
expressed his disapprobation of the profanation of the 
Lord's day, so prevalent in his diocese. u I had, for some 
time past," he says, " observed in several of the papers, an 
account of a meeting, chiefly of military gentlemen, at an 
hotel of the west end of the town, which was regularly 
announced, as held every other Sunday during the winter 
season. This appeared to me, and to every friend of reli- 
gion, a needless and wanton profanatiou of the christian 
Sabbath, which, by the laws both of God and man, was set 
apart for very different purposes ; and the bishops and clergy 
were severally censured for permitting such a glaring abuse 
of that sacred day, to pass without notice or reproof. I 
determined that it should not, and therefore thought it 
best to go at once to the fountain-head, to the person of 
the highest and principal influence in the meeting, the 
Prince of Wales. [He was then, it is said, wrapped in 
flannel, and carried to Carlton-House.] I accordingly re- 
quested the honour of an audience, and a personal confer- 
ence with him on this subject. He very graciously granted 
it, and I had a conversation with him of more than half 
an hour. He entered immediately into my views, and con- 
fessed that he saw no reasons for holding the meeting on 
Sundays, more than any other day of the week ; and he 
voluntarily proposed, that the day should be changed from 
Sunday to Saturday, for which he said that he would give 
immediate orders." 



ESTHER I. 213 



ESTHER. 

Chap. i. ver. 8. — The drinking was according to 
the law ; none did compel : for so the king had ap- 
pointed to all officers of his house, that they should 
do according to every man s pleasure. 

11 The evening of this day," (Feb. 25, 1785,) says the 
Rev. David Brown in his journal, " was remarkable for a 
debate, in which my sentiments respecting song-singing, 
drinking to excess, &c, were brought to the test. After 
my glass of claret, I declined taking more ; when the cap- 
tain forcibly urged me, and would have taken my glass and 
rilled it ; but, with a determined air, I told him, he might 
attempt as easily to shake Gibraltar as to shake me from my 
purpose. It was replied, * Then you must sing.' I told 
them, I considered it as inconsistent with my character, 
and I could not oblige them by a violation of my judg- 
ment. The captain observed, that we ought to accommo- 
date ourselves to the spirit of the company we sit down 
with, and that it was only good breeding, and harmless to 
do so. I replied that I was a great advocate for liberty ; 
that I gave large scope to others to follow their own judg- 
ments ; and that I valued myself on this prerogative of 
man. I had opinions I could not part with to oblige 
any company whatsoever ; that man must be dastardly and 
unprincipled, who would, to please others, act contrary to 
his judgment, and thus give up the most precious right of 
human nature. That respecting the innocency of table- 
singing, I would not hesitate to affirm that some songs 
were really criminal, and by no rules of morality in the 
world to be justified : and that to me ail seemed improper 
and inconsistent. I added, that it was contrary to good 
sense, as well as good breeding, and all the laws of free- 
dom, to press a person after such a declaration ; and that I 
did not doubt but the present company, every one of them, 
would have as contemptible an opinion of me as I deserved, 
should I comply and give up my opinion ; and concluded 
by answering to the captain's argument, saying, that I did 
not believe it would give him any satisfaction to hurt my 
feelings, but that I should disoblige him by granting what 
they had asked. To this the captain made a short and 



214 ESTHER IV. 

proper answer, that I should never more be pressed to any- 
thing disagreeable, or contrary to my judgment, as long as 
I was in his ship." 

Chap. ii. ver. 1.— The wrath of King Ahasuerus 
was appeased. 

Mr P — , a solicitor in London, had a shrewd little 

boy of about six years old. The child was playing one day 
when his father came into the room in a violent passion, a 
thing unusual with him. The child was amazed to see his 
father so agitated ; he dropped his play-things, looked at 
his father for a moment, and walked up to him and caught 
his hand, and said, with an earnest look, " Why father, 
you are in a passion, are you not ?" This rebuke instantly 
dispelled his father's passion, and for years afterwards the 
effect of it remained, and checked any improper heat. 

Chap. iii. ver. 2.— All the king's servants that 
were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Ha- 
inan. 

An English country clergyman was bragging in a large 
company, of the success he had in reforming his parishion- 
ers, on whom his labours, he said, had produced a wonder- 
ful change for the better. Being asked in what respect, he 
replied, that when he came first among them, they were a 
set of unmannerly clowns, who paid him no more deference 
than they did to one another ; did not so much as pull off 
their hat when they spoke to him, but bawled out as roughly 
and familiarly as though he were their equal ; whereas 
now, they never presumed to address him but cap in hand, 
and in a submissive voice made him their best bow when 
they were at ten yards distance, and styled him your reve- 
rence at every word. A Quaker, who had heard the whole 
patiently, made answer, " And so, friend, the upshot of 
this reformation, of which thou hast so much carnal glory, 
is, that thou hast taught thy people to worship thyself." 

Chap. iv. ver. 4. — The queen sent raiment to 
clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth ; but 
he received it not. 

An ambassador in the East informs us, that he was in- 
vited, with his companions, to dine with an eastern monarch. 
The interpreter told them that it was the custom that they 



ESTHER VII. 215 

should wear, over their own garments, the best of those 
which the king had sent them. At first they hesitated, 
and did not like to have their own robes hidden ; but being 
told that it was expected from all ambassadors, and that the 
King would be much displeased if they came into his pre- 
sence without his robes, they complied. 

Chap. v. ver. 11. — Haman told them of the glory 
of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and 
all the things wherein the king had promoted him. 

A lady whom the Hon. and Rev. W. B. Cadogan was 
one day visiting, having made many inquiries and remarks 
relating to his birth, family, and connections, " My dear 
madam," said Mr C, " I wonder you can spend so much 
time upon so poor a subject ! I called to converse with you 
upon the things of eternity !" 

Chap. vi. ver. 1. — On that night could not the 
king sleep ; and he commanded to bring the book of 
records of the Chronicles ; and they were read before 
the king. 

A few years ago, a good man at Gravesend had retired 
to rest late on the Saturday night, having first secured the 
doors and windows of his house and shop. Weary, how- 
ever, as he was with the labours of the week, he found it 
impossible to sleep ; and having tossed about his bed for an 
hour or two without rest, he resolved to rise and spend an 
hour in the perusal of the Bible, as preparatory to the en- 
gagements of the Sabbath. He went down stairs with the 
Bible under his arm, and advancing towards one of the 
outer doors, he found several men who had broken into 
his house, and who, but for this singular interruption, 
would probably, in a very short peiiod, have deprived 
him of the whole of his property — Unbroken sleep, in 
the general, is a blessing, but sometimes the want of sleep 
is a mercy. The King of Persia was thus led to the know- 
ledge of facts that, in the end, prevented the massacre of 
all the Jews in his empire, which had been decreed to take 
place. 

Chap. vii. ver. 4. — We are sold, I and my people, 
to be" destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. 

Don Pedro, one of the Spanish captains taken by Sir 



216 ESTHER IX. 

Francis Drake, being examined before the Lords of the 
Privy Council, respecting their design of invading Eng- 
land, replied, u To subdue the nation, and root it out." — 
u And what meant you," said the Lords, " to do with the 
Catholics ?" — " To send them good men," said he, " di- 
rectly to heaven, and you heretics to hell." — w For what 
end were your whips of cord and wire ?" — u To whip you 
heretics to death." — " What would you have done with the 
young children ?" — iC They above seven years old should 
have gone the way their fathers went ; the rest should have 
lived in perpetual bondage, branded in the forehead with 
the letter L, for Lutheran." 

Chap. viii. ver. 16. — The Jews had light.* and glad- 
ness, and joy. 

Cambo, a negro in one of the southern states of Ame- 
rica, being desired to give some account of his conversion, 
proceeded as follows : — " While in my own country, 
(Guinea) me had no knowledge of the being of a God ; 
me thought me should die like the beasts. After me was 
brought to America, and sold as a slave, as me and another 
servant of the name of Bess were working in the field, me 
began to sing one of my old country songs, c It is time to 
go home ;' when Bess say to me, ' Cambo, why you sing so 
for ?' Me say, c Me no sick, me no sorry ; why me no 
sing ?' Bess say, ' You better pray to your blessed Lord 
and Massah, to have mercy on your soul.' Me look round, 
me look up, me see no one to pray to ; but the words sound 
in my ears, ' Better pray to your Lord and Massah !' Bye 
and bye me fell bad — sun shine sorry — birds sing sorry — 
land look sorry, but Cambo sorrier than them all. Then 
me cry out, ' Mercy, mercy, Lord ! on poor Cambo ! ' — 
Bye and bye, water come in my eyes, and glad come in my 
heart. Then sun look gay — woods look gay — birds sing 
gay — land look gay, but poor Cambo gladder than them all. 
Me love my Massah some ; me want to love him more." 

Chap. ix. ver. 30. — Mordecai sent the letters unto 
all the Jews — with words of peace and truth. 

A historian who lived at the period of the Norman Con- 
quest, in mentioning some kings of England before Alfred, 
with bhort appropriate epithets, names him with the simple 
but expressive addition of l: The truth-teller." — A good 



job i. 217 

man observed, that peace was so desirable an object, that 
he would sacrifice every thing but truth to obtain it. 

Chap. x. ver. 3. — Mordecai was accepted of the 
multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his 
people, and speaking peace to all his seed. 

Mr Howard, the philanthropist, with the view of pro- 
moting the health and comfort of his tenants, pulled down 
all the cottages on his estate, and rebuilt them in such a 
situation, and on such a plan, as to preserve them from the 
damp of the soil. To each of these neat and simple habi- 
tations he allotted a piece of garden ground, sufficient to 
supply the family of its occupier with potatoes and other 
vegetables. He always let the cottages thus so materially 
improved, at the original rent of from twenty to thirty 
shillings a-year ; so that there was scarcely a poor person in 
the village who was not anxious to have the privilege, which, 
however was not promiscuously or thoughtlessly conferred, 
but uniformly reserved for the industrious, the sober, and 
the deserving ; and these were required, as a condition of 
their enjoying it, to attend regularly some place of worship, 
and to abstain from public-houses, and from pernicious 
amusements. To secure their compliance with these rules, 
he made them tenants at will. The natural consequence 
of these excellent regulations, was a tenantry distinguished 
by their happiness, order, neatness, and morality ; possess- 
ing and enjoying a great portion of temporal comfort, and 
carefully taught the grounds on which to build their hopes 
for eternity, — namely, on Christ and him crucified. 



JOB. 

Chap. i. ver. 21, 22. — The Lord gave, and the 
Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the 
Lord. — In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God 
foolishly. 

A pious lady, who had lost a very promising child, was 
one day sitting with her little daughter of about three years 
of age by her side, and conversing with her respecting the 
death of her little brother. She told her that God had 

T 



IV. 

taken him to heaven, and as she spoke she wept. The 
little girl, after a few moments of pensive thought, asked 
her mother, " Was it proper for God to take H to hea- 
ven ?*' To which she replied in the affirmative. " "Well, 
then," said she, "if it was proper for God to take him 
. what do you cry for. mamma ?" 

Chap. ii. ver. 10. — ^Tliat 1 shall we receive Q'ood 
at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ( 

The Oriental philosopher, Lokman, while a slave, being 
presented by his master with a bitter melon, immediately 
ate it all. c; How was it possible," said the master, "for 
you to eat so nauseous a fruit ?" Lokman replied, " I 
have received so many favours from you, that it is no won- 
der I should once in my life eat a bitter melon from your 
hand." The generous answer of the slave struck his mas- 
ter to such a degree, that he immediately gave him his 
liberty. With such sentiments of gratitude, submission, 
and ready obedience, should men receive sorrows and afflic- 
tions from the hand of God. 

Chap. hi. ver. 19. — The small and great are there. 

After Saladin the Great had subdued Egypt, passed the 
Euphrates, and conquered cities without number — after he 
had retaken Jerusalem, and performed extraordinary ex- 
ploits in those wars which superstition had stirred up for the 
recovery of the Holy Land, he finished his life in the per- 
formance of an action, which ought to be transmitted to the 
latest posteritv. A moment before he uttered his last sigh, 
he called the herald, who had carried his banners before 
him in all his battles ; he commanded him to fasten to the 
top of a lance the shroud in which the dying prince was 
soon to be buried. u Go," said he, " can-y the lance, un- 
furl the banner ; and, while you lift up this standard, pro- 
claim — *' This, this is all that remains of all the glory of 
Saladin the Great, the conqueror and King of the empire.' " 

Chap. iv. ver. 10. — The roaring of the lion, and 
the voice of the fierce lion. 

Rubens, a celebrated arti>t, when painting a lion from 
the only living specimen he ever had in his power to stud} 
expressed a desire to see him in the act of roaring. Anxious 
to pie the keeper plucked a whisker of the royal 






JOB VII. 219 

beast, and with such success, that he daily repeated the 
experiment. Rubens, however, perceived such deadly wrath 
in the countenance of the animal, that he begged the man 
to desist : the hint was at first regarded, but too soon ne- 
glected. The consequence was dreadful ; the enraged lion 
struck down the keeper, and lay upon him the whole day : 
in the evening he was shot by a body of guards ; but in the 
agonies of death the keeper was torn to pieces. 

Chap. v. ver. 1/. — Behold, happy is the man whom 
God correcteth ; therefore despise not thou the chas- 
tening of the Almighty. 

Dr Watts, from his early infancy to his dying day, 
scarcely ever knew what health was ; but however surpris- 
ing it may appear, he looked on the affliction as the greatest 
blessing of his life. The reason he assigned for it was, 
that being naturally of a warm temper, and an ambitious 
disposition, these visitations of Divine Providence weaned 
his affections from the world, and brought every passion 
into subjection to Christ. This he often mentioned to his 
dear friend, Sir Thomas Abney, in whose house he lived 
many years. 

Chap. vi. ver. 15. — My brethren have dealt de- 
ceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they 
pass away. 

r u To-day," says Mr Whitefield in the journal of his first 
voyage to Georgia, " Colonel C. came to dine with us : 
and in the midst of our meal, we were entertained with a 
most agreeable sight. It was a shark, about the length of 
a man, which followed our ship, attended with five smaller 
fishes, called pilot-fish, much like our mackerel, but larger. 
These, I am told, always keep the shark company ; and, 
what is most surprising, though the shark is so ravenous a 
creature, yet let it be ever so hungry, it will not touch one 
of them. Nor are they less faithful to him ; for, as I am 
informed, if the shark is hooked, very often these little 
creatures will cleave close to his fins, and are often taken 
up with him. — Go to the pilot-fish, thou that forsakest a 
friend in adversity, consider his ways, and be ashamed." 

Chap. vii. ver. 16. — I would not live alway. 

Dr Dwight's mother lived to be more than a hundred 



220 job ix. 

years of age. When she was a hundred and two, some 
people visited her on a certain day, and while they were 
with her, the bell was heard toll for a funeral. The old 
lady burst into tears, and said, " When will the bell toll 
for me ? It seems that the bell will never toll for me. I 
am afraid that I shall never die." 

" How gladly my spirit would par 
From all that around roe I see ! 
There is but one lingering wish in my heart; — 
'Tis away from the earth and its sorrows to be. 
Oh ! when will the bell toll for me ?" 

Chap. viii. ver. 7. — Though thy beginning was 
small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. 

Lately died, aged 68, Richard Holt, Esq., banker, and 
father of the Corporation of Grantham. In this gentleman 
there is a strong proof of the effect of industry and perse- 
vering application to business, In early life he commenced 
with a small capital as a grocer and tallow-chandler on the 
premises where he died : he was but rarely seen except be- 
hind his counter, or in his counting-house, where he con- 
tinued with unabated diligence till within a week of his 
death, leaving, it is generally believed, property to the 
amount of upwards of £ 100,000. 

Chap. ix. ver. 23. — If the scourge slay suddenly, he 
will laugh at the trial of the innocent. 

At a meeting of ministers in Leicestershire, about seventy 
years ago, among other subjects, one of them proposed the 
above passage for discussion. Deep seriousness pervaded 
the conversation, while each minister gave his thoughts 
upon the text. When it came to the turn of a Mr Chris- 
tian to speak, he dwelt upon the subject with an unusual 
degree of feeling. He considered it as referring to the 
sudden death of the righteous ; and was expatiating very 
largely on the desirableness of such an event, and the happy 
surprise with which it would be attended ; when, behold, 
amidst a flood of rapturous tears, he took his flight, while 
the words were still faultering on his tongue ! The brethren 
did not at first perceive that he was dead ; but thought 
the strength of his feelings had forbid him utterance. At 
their next social meeting, Mr Woodman preached on the 
occasion from 2 Kings ii. 11. " And it came to pass, as 
they still went on and talked, that, behold, there appeared a 



JOB XII. 221 

chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both 
asunder ; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 

Chap. x. ver. 15. — If I be righteous, yet will I not 
lift up my head. 

Some time after Mr Newton had published his Omicron's 
Letters, and described the three stages of growth in reli- 
gion — from the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear — 
distinguishing them by the letters A, B, and C, a conceited 
young minister wrote to Mr N., telling him that he read 
his own character accurately drawn in that of C ; Mr N. 
wrote in reply, that in drawing the character of C, or full 
maturity, he had forgotten to add, till now, one prominent 
feature of C's character, namely — that C never knew his 
own face* 

Chap. xi. yer. 10. — If he cut off — or gather to- 
gether, then who can harden him ? 

To a lady, who was bitterly lamenting the death of an 
infant child, Bishop Heber related the following beautiful 
apologue, as one with which he had himself been affect- 
ed A shepherd was mourning over the death of his fa- 
vourite child, and in the passionate and rebellious feeling of 
his heart, was bitterly complaining, that what he loved most 
tenderly, and was in itself most lovely, had been taken from 
him. Suddenly, a stranger of grave and venerable appear- 
ance stood before him, and beckoned him forth into the field. 
It was night, and not a word was spoken till they arrived at 
the fold, when the stranger thus addressed him : ft When 
you select one of these lambs from the flock, you choose the 
best, and most beautiful among them : why should you mur- 
mur, because I, the good Shepherd of the sheep, have select- 
ed from those which you have nourished for me, the one which 
was most fitted for my eternal fold ?" The mysterious stran- 
ger was seen no more, and the father's heart was comforted. 

Chap. xii. ver. 6. — The tabernacles of robbers 
prosper, and they that provoke God are secure ; into 
whose hand God bringeth abundantly. 

Dr Arbuthnot, after commenting on the great riches and 
unparalleled iniquities of the infamous Charties, concludes : 
" O, indignant reader ! think not his life useless to man- 
kin d. Providence connived at his execrable designs, to 
x 2 



C 2 C 2% job xiv. 

give to after ages a conspicuous proof and example of how 
small estimation is exorbitant wealth in the sight of God, 
by his bestowing it on the most unworthy of mortals !" 

Chap. xiii. ver. 15. — Though he slay me, yet will 
I trust in him. 

The late Rev. John Butterworth, a minister of England, 
speaking of his religious experiences, says, " One day as I 
was reading in a book called the ' Marrow of Modern Di- 
vinity,' a sentence from Luther was quoted, which was this, 
c I would run into the arms of Christ, if he stood with a 
drawn sword in his hand.' This thought came bolting into 
my mind — ' so will I too ;' — and those words of Job oc- 
curred — c Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.' 
My burden dropped off; my soul was rilled with joy and 
peace through believing in Christ ; a venturesome believ- 
ing, as Mr Belcher calls it, was the means of setting me 
at liberty ; nor have I ever been in such perplexity, respect- 
ing my interest in Christ, since that time ; though I have 
had various trials in other respects." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 10. — Mandieth, and wasteth away; 
yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he ? 

One Lord's day, the Rev. Mr Button of London, 
preached at Harlington, from the above text. After a va- 
riety of pertinent remarks on the mortality of man, and the 
state of the soul after death, Mr B. suggested that it was 
possible some one or other in the congregation might be 
removed by death that day ; and that being the case, it be- 
came each one to put the question to himself — u Where 
am I likely to be ? In heaven or in hell ?" — Returning to 
the afternoon service, Mr B. was met at the meeting-house 
door by one of the members of the church, who said, " An 
affecting providence, Sir, has just taken place ! The con- 
gregation is assembled, and a man in the gallery is now 
fallen down, apparently dead ; he is carried into the vestry." 
A medical gentleman was immediately sent for, who said 
that the person had died of an apoplectic fit. The 
awakening providence produced a deep solemnity in the 
congregation. " Be ye also ready ; for at such an hour as 
ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." 



job xvii. £25 

Chap. xv. ver. 4. — Yea, tliou easiest off fear, and 
restrainest prayer before God. 

An aged person, who had been many years a well-es- 
teemed member of the church, at length became a drunkard, 
and was excommunicated, and died in awful circumstan- 
ces. Some of his dying words were these — " I often 
prayed unto God for a mercy, which he still denied me. 
At length I grew angry at God ; whereupon I grew slack 
in my acquaintance with the Lord : ever since which he 
hath dreadfully forsaken me ; and I know that now he hath 
no mercy for me." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 16. — On my eyelids is the shadow 
of death. 

Mr George Moir, an eminently pious man, after having 
been worn out by a long and painful illness, was told by 
his wife, that the change of his countenance indicated the 
speedy approach of death. " Does it ?" he replied ; " bring 
me a glass." On looking at himself in the glass, he was 
struck with the appearance of a corpse which he saw in his 
countenance ; but giving the glass back, he said, with calm 
satisfaction, " Ah ! death has set his mark on my body, 
but Christ has set his mark upon my soul." 

Chap. xvii. ver. 2. — Are there not mockers with 
me? 

When the late Rev. John Brown of Whitburn was 
going to London by sea, in 1814, some fellow passengers 
of the baser sort, knowing or guessing his profession, were 
resolved to play off their profane wit upon him ; with this 
design they wrote him a note, saying, that as they pre- 
sumed he was one that was acquainted with, and could 
apply the " balm of Gilead," they were anxious he would 
prescribe for a young woman who was under great distress 
of mind. Having read the note, and perceiving at once 
the spirit of it, he went down to the cabin from which it 
had been brought to him, and holding it open in his hand, 
said, " Gentlemen, it is of little importance what insults 
you offer me personally, but I cannot, and will not, bear to 
see Him whose I am, and whom I serve, insulted. Mock 
not, lest your bands be made strong." The effect of his 
appearance and address were such, that during the rest of 
the passage he was treated with the utmost respect. 



224 job xix. 

Chap, xviii. ver. 3. — Wherefore are we counted as 
beasts, and reputed vile in your sight ? 

" The present number in the girl's school," says Mrs 
Mault, in a letter from the East Indies, u is fifty-eight ; 
and some of them are interesting children. About one- 
third of these girls are slaves ; and as the children of slaves 
here are always the property of the mother's master, we 
have formed the resolution, that each girl, by her own in- 
dustry, shall purchase her freedom before she leaves the 

school It will give you some idea in what light slaves are 

viewed by the higher castes, who are their masters, when I 
mention one circumstance. A girl in the school had be- 
come big enough to work in her master's field ; he there- 
fore came to make his claim to her. I asked him if it 
would not be well for her to learn to read ? and whether 
he should not allow her to do so ? He replied, " It may be 
well for you to instruct her, as you will get a better place 
in heaven thereby ; but it is enough for me if my bullocks 
and slaves do the work required in the fields !" Here you 
see man, who is immortal, classed with the brute which 
perisheth. And this is not a solitary instance ; for the 
lower classes in society here are not allowed to enjoy even 
the same privileges as cows, and some other of the brute 
creation !" 

Chap. xix. ver. 25. — I know that my Redeemer 
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon 
the earth. 

u I have seen," says Mr Hervey, " Dr Glyn's poem, en- 
titled, ' The Day of Judgment.' It is not without elegance 
and pathos ; but its chief deficiency is, that it neglects to 
ascribe proper honour to Christ. He is, indeed, slightly 
hinted at in one chosen line ; but he should have made the 
most distinguishing figure throughout the whole piece. All 
judgment is committed to him. It is Christ who will come 
in the clouds of heaven ; we must all appear before the 
judgment-seat of Christ. This, to the believer, is a most 
delightful consideration — My Redeemer is my Judge ! 
He who died for me, passes the final sentence. Look ! 
how great is his majesty and glory ! so great is my atone- 
ment and propitiation." 



job xxii. 225 

Chap. xx. ver. 22. — In the fulness of his sufficiency 
he shall he in straits. 

" I knew a man," says one, " that had wealth and 
riches, and several houses, all beautiful and ready furnish- 
ed, and who would often trouble himself and his family by 
removing from one house to another. Being asked by a 
friend why he removed so often, he replied, it was to find 
content in some one of them, & Content,' said his friend, 
' ever dwells in a meek and quiet soul.' " 

Chap. xxi. ver. 12, 13. — They take the timbrel 
and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. — 
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment 
go down to the grave. 

Mr and Mrs G , who lived in the state of New- 
York, had risen from poverty and obscurity to wealth and 
distinction. Their prosperity appears, however, to have 
been unsanctified, and they were led to indulge in those 
amusements which tend to banish serious reflection, and to 
bring the whole soul under the debasing influence of this 
world. One evening, memorable in the annals of amuse- 
ments in the place where they lived, Mrs G was pre- 
sent. All was hilarity and mirth around her ; but from 

some cause, Mrs G had not her accustomed flow of 

spirits. She had been slightly indisposed, but was now ap- 
parently well. She did not, however, fully participate in 
the general mirth that surrounded her. A gentleman pre- 
sent, who was an intimate acquaintance, attempted to rally 

her : " Why, Mrs G , you seem rather sober ; are you 

becoming serious, or are you growing old ?" " I am not 
very serious," replied Mrs G. , " and not so old but that 
I can dance, and if you doubt it, J will dance with you." 
The offer was joyfully accepted. " Give place, ladies," 
said the gentleman, as he led her into the forming circle, 
" Mrs G is going to join with us." New joy ani- 
mated all countenances ; the music gave forth its thrilling 
strains. < On with the dance !' seemed the impulse of 

every heart. The dance went on ; Mrs G moved a 

few steps, and sunk down a lifeless corpse ! 

Chap. xxii. ver. 7. — Thou hast not given water to 
the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread 
from the hungry. 



ooG 



JOB XXIII. 



An Indian, who had not met with his usual success in 
hunting, wandered down to a plantation, among the back 
settlements of Virginia, and seeing a planter at his door, 
asked him for a morsel of bread, for he was very hungry. 
The planter bid him t4 Begone, for he would give him none.'" 
" Will you give me then a cup of your beer?" said the In- 
dian. " No ; you shall have none here," replied the planter. 
u But I am very faint," said the savage ; " will you give 
me only a draught of cold water ?" " Gret you gone, you 
Indian dog, you shall have nothing here," said the planter. 
It happened some time after, that the planter went on a 
shooting party up into the woods, where, intent upon his 
game, he missed his company, and lost his way, and night 
coming on, he wandered through the forest, till he espied 
an Indian wigwam. He approached the savage's habita- 
tion, and asked him to show him the way to a plantation, 
on that side of the country. " It is too late for you to go 
there this evening, Sir," said the Indian, " but if you will 
accept of my homely fare, you are welcome," He then 
offered him some venison, and such other refreshments as 
his store afforded, and having laid some bear-skins for his 
bed, he desired that he would repose himself for the night, 
and he would awake him early in the morning, and conduct 
him on his way. Accordingly, in the morning they set off, 
and the Indian led him out of the forest, and put him on the 
road he was to go. But just as they were taking leave, he 
stepped before the planter, and turning round, stared full 
in his face, and bid him say, " whether he recollected his 
features." The planter was now struck with horror, when 
he beheld in his kind protector, the Indian whom he had 
so harshly treated. He confessed that he knew him, and 
was full of excuses for his brutal behaviour ; to which the 
Indian replied, " When you see poor Indians fainting for 
a cup of cold water, don't say again, c Get you gone, you 
Indian dog !' " The Indian then wished him well on his 
journey, and left him. It is not difficult to say which of 
these had the best claim to the name of Christian. 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 12. — I have esteemed the words 
of his mouth more than my necessary food. 

" Being in company," says one, " with a young officer 
in the East India Company's service, lately arrived, he 
mentioned that one of the seamen died on their passage 






job xxiv. 227 

home, and when that happens, it is a custom among ship- 
mates to sell all their clothes by auction, and this was done 
to the person alluded to. In his chest was a Bible, which 
was put up by itself at sixpence ; it presently got up to 
twelve shillings, and the captain desired the auctioneer to 
knock it down, as it was too much for it, he said. And 
my informant added, he had no doubt but it would have 
sold for a guinea, if they had been let alone. He also said, 
that a Bible was considered a valuable acquisition by many 
of the seamen on board that ship ; and that frequently, at 
leisure hours, one person read the Scriptures to many of 
his shipmates, who were all attention to hear." 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 14. — The murderer, rising with 
the light, killeth the poor and needy, and in the night 
is as a thief. 

Sometimes murders, secretly committed, have been 
brought to light in a very remarkable manner. The fol- 
lowing is an instance, taken from an American newspaper : 
" In the village of Manchester, Vermont, several years 
since, R. Colvin, a man of respectable connections and 
character, suddenly and mysteriously disappeared ; all search 
and inquiry proved futile and in vain, until within a few 
weeks, a person dreamed that he had appeared to him, and 
informed him that he had been murdered by two persons 
whom he named, and that he had been buried in such a 
place, a few rods distant from a sapling, bearing a particu- 
lar mark, which he minutely described. The same dream 
occurred three times successively before he awoke, and each 
time the deceased seemed very solicitous for him to follow. 
Upon awaking, his feelings were wrought up to such a 
degree, and he was so impressed with a belief of the fact, 
that he determined to collect some friends, and follow the 
directions laid down in the dream. He did so, and dis- 
covered, to his great surprise, not only a tree marked pre- 
cisely as described, but also the appearance of a grave ; and 
upon digging, found a human skeleton ! After this dis- 
covery, Stephen and Jesse Brown, the persons implicated 
in the dream, were apprehended, and put in confinement, 
and, after a few days, confessed the deed. They were 
tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed on the 13th 
of January last." (1820.) 



228 job xxviii. 

Chap. xxv. ver. 4. — How then can man be justi- 
fied with God I 

About the year 1100. amidst the almost universal dark- 
ness of popery, there was a form of consolation to the 
dying, said to be written by Anselm, archbishop of Canter- 
bury ; and in the year 1475, printed in Germany. It was 
in the following words : — " Go to, then, as long as thou 
art in life, — put all thy confidence in the death of Christ 
alone,— confide in nothing else, — commit thyself wholly to 
it, — mix thyself wholly with it, — roll thyself wholly on it ; 
and if the Lord God will judge thee, say, ; Lord, I put the 
death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and thy judg- 
ment, otherwise I contend not with thee :' — and if he say, 
* Thou art a sinner,' reply, c Put the death cf our Lord 
Jesus Christ between me and my sins :' — and if he say, 
c Thou hast deserved damnation,' let thine answer be, 
( Lord, I spread the death of our Lord Jesus Christ be- 
tween me and my demerits ; I offer his merits for the merits 
1 should have had and have not.' If he still insist that he 
is angry at thee, reply again, ( Lord, I put the death of the 
Lord Jesus Christ between me and thine anger.' " 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 14. — The thunder of his power 
who can understand ? 

" Were I fully able to describe God," says Epictetus, " I 
should be God myself, or God must cease to be what he is." 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 20. — Terrors take hold on him 
as waters. 

Volney, a French infidel, was on board a vessel during 
a violent storm at sea, when the ship was in imminent danger 
of being lost ; he threw himself on the deck, crying in agony, 
u Oh, my God ! my God !" " There is a God, then, Mon- 
sieur Volney ?" said one of the passengers to him. u O 
yes," exclaimed the terrified infidel, u there is, there is ! 
Lord save me." The ship, however, got safely into port. 
Volney was extremely disconcerted when his confession was 
publicly related; but excused it by saying, he was so fright- 
ened by the storm that he did not know what he said, and 
immediately returned to his atheistical sentiments. 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 23. — Unto man he said, Behold 
the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart 
from evil is understanding. 



JOB XXIX. 229 

Mr Hervey, in a letter to a friend, gives the following 
account of his views and feelings, when brought to the 
gates of death by a severe illness : — u AY ere I," says he, 
(i to enjoy Hezekiah's grant, and have fifteen years added 
to my life, I would be much more frequent in my applica- 
tions to a throne of grace. We sustain a mighty loss by 
reading so much, and praying so little. Were I to renew 
my studies, I would take my leave of these accomplished 
trifles — the historians, the orators, the poets of antiquity — 
and devote my attention to the Scriptures of truth. I 
would sit with much greater assiduity at my Divine Mas- 
ter's feet, and desire to knew nothing but Jesus Christ and 
him crucified. This wisdom, whose fruits are peace in life, 
consolation in death, and everlasting salvation after death — 
this I would trace, this I would seek, this I would explore, 
through the spacious and delightful fields of the Old and 
New Testament." 

Chap. xxix. ver. 13. — The blessing of him that 
"was ready to perish came upon me. 

A gentleman from the country, passing through the 
streets of the metropolis, saw a poor man who had for- 
merly been employed by him as a labourer, and his circum- 
stances were those of extreme poverty and distress. He 
had come up to London to seek employment, but, fail- 
ing to obtain it, was reduced to a state of extreme destitu- 
tion. The gentleman gave him a shilling, and passed on, 
perhaps scarcely recollectiug the circumstance, till it was 
recalled to his mind by the man himself, whom, about 
twelve months afterwards, he met again, and whose deceut 
clothing and cheerful looks indicated a favourable change 
in his circumstances. " Sir," said the poor fellow, "lam 
bound to bless you and pray for you as long as I live ; that 
shilling you gave me has been the making of me : bad 
enough, I wanted it for food ; but I was resolved first to 
turn it round : so I went up and down one of the principal 
streets, and collected as many hare-skins as it would pur- 
chase ; these I disposed of, and contented myself with such 
food as the profits would afford, still reserving the shilling 
as my stock in trade. By degrees I saved a little more, 
and to you, Sir, I am indebted for the foundation of it all. 
But for your timely aid, I might have perished. May a 
blessing attend you as long as you live." 
u 



230 job xxxii. 

Chap. xxx. ver. 25. — Did I not weep for him that 
was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the 
poor ? 

One Sabbath evening, as Mr Cruden, the author of the 
Concordance to the Bible, was returning from a place of 
worship, he accidentally fell in with a man whose appearance 
betrayed anxious sorrow, fixed melancholy, and deep de- 
spair. This was too interesting an object to the sympa- 
thizing mind of Mr Cruden, to be carelessly neglected, and 
making up to the man, he tenderly accosted him, and in 
course of conversation learned that the extreme poverty of 
his family, together with some other causes, had driven him 
to the desperate resolution of committing suicide. With 
the most affectionate tenderness, Mr C. expostulated with 
the man on the wickedness of his intention, counselled him 
against the perpetration of the deed, administered such 
friendly consolations, and accompanied the whole with pre- 
sent pecuniary assistance, and promises of future support, 
that the poor man was prevented from his horrid purpose, 
and returned home to his family in the most cheerful state 
of mind. 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 16. — If I have withheld the poor 
from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the 
widow to fail. 

When Sir Thomas More was Lord Chancellor, he de- 
creed a gentleman to pay a sum of money to a poor widow, 
whom he had wronged ; to whom the gentleman said, 
" Then I hope your lordship will grant me a long day to 
pay it." " I will grant your motion," said the chancellor, 
" Monday next is St Barnabas' day, which is the longest 
day in the year ; pay it to the widow that day, or I will 
commit you to the Fleet." 

Chap, xxxii. ver. 14. — Job hath not directed his 
words against me ; neither will I answer him with 
your speeches. 

Mr Newton of London was a very candid and friendly 
critic, and was often applied to by young authors for his 
opinions and remarks, which he would give very candidly, 
and sometimes under the name of Nibblings. On one of 
these occasions, a practical essay was put into his hand 
which he approved ; but a letter was appended, addressed 



job xxxni. 231 

to an obscure and contemptible writer, who had said very 
unwarrantable and absurd things on the subject, and whom 
therefore the writer attacked with little ceremony. The 
following is a specimen of some of Mr Newton's nibblings : 

(i Were the affair mine, I would take no notice of Mr , 

but, if I did, it should be with the hope, at least with the 
desire, of doing good, even to him. This would make me 
avoid every harsh epithet. He is not likely to be benefited 
by calling him a fool. The Evangelists simply relate what 
is said and done, and use no bitterness nor severity, even 
when speaking of Herod, Pilate, or Judas. I wish their 
manner was more adopted in controversy. " 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 15, 16. — In a dream, in a vision 
of the night, when deep sleep f alleth upon men, in 
slumberings upon the bed ■ then he openeth the ears 
of men, and sealeth their instruction. 

"A poor man," says the late Rev. Thomas Scott, " most 
dangerously ill, of whose religious state I entertained some 
hopes, seemed to me in the agonies of death. I sat by his 
bed for a considerable time, expecting to see him expire ; 
but at length he awoke as from sleep, and noticed me. I 
said, c You are extremely ill.' He replied, < Yes ; but I 
shall not die this time.' 1 asked the ground of this extra- 
ordinary confidence, saying, that I was persuaded he would 
not recover. To this he answered, 4 1 have just dreamed 
that you, with a very venerable-looking person, came to 
me ; he asked yon what you thought of me : What kind of 
tree is it ? Is there any fruit 9 You said, No, but 
there are blossoms. Well, then, he said, I will spare it a 
little longer.' All reliance upon such a dream I should, in 
other circumstances, have scouted as enthusiasm and pre- 
sumption ; but it so exactly met my ideas as to the man's 
state of mind, which, however, I had never communicated 
to him, and the event, much beyond all expectation, so an- 
swered his confidence, by his recovery, that I could not but 
think there was something peculiar. On his recovery, this 
man for a time went on very well ; but afterwards he gave 
up all attention to religion, and became very wicked ; and, 
when I reminded him of what has been now related, he 
treated the whole with indifference, not to say with profane 
contempt. But I have since learned, from very good 



232 job xxxv. 

authority, that, after I left that part of the country, (the 
neighbourhood of Olney,) he was again brought under 
deep conviction of sin ; recollected and dolefully bemoaned 
his conduct towards me, and with respect to hisdream, 
and became a decidedly religious character." 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 29. — When he hideth his face, 
who then can behold him ? whether it he done against 
a nation, or against a man only. 

The late Rev. Ebenezer White, a pious minister in 
Chester, was subject to frequent depression of spirits. In 
a letter to his mother some time before his death, he says, 
— " In addition to my bodily evils, I am the subject of 
great darkness and stupidity of mind. I can hardly think 
on divine things, or indeed any thing, for my mind is as 
feeble as my body. I have, however, sense enough left to 
hear some awful voices in this rod. God seems to say, 
c Who sent you into my vineyard ? — What hast thou to 
do to declare my statutes ? — Give an account of thy stew- 
ardship ! — Cast out the unprofitable servant ! — Let another 
take his office V — I have many other dismal impressions ; 
and my confidence is far too weak to efface them. My 
only hope is the broad ground of the gospel declaration, as 
that, — ' Christ came to save sinners — His blood cleanseth 
from all sin — He is able to save," &c. And sometimes, 
but very rarely, I have a humble hope that God intends to 
save me, though it be as by fire." 

Chap. xxxv. ver. 11. — Who teacheth us more 
than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser 
than the fowls of heaven ? 

Luther tells us of two cardinals, who, as they were riding 
to the council of Constance, saw a shepherd in the field 
weeping. One of them being affected with it, rode up to 
him to comfort him, and coming near to him, desired to 
know the reason of his weeping. The shepherd was un- 
willing to tell him at first, but at last he told him, saying, 
c: I looking upon this toad, considered that I never praised 
God as I ought, for making me such an excellent creature 
as a man, comely and reasonable. I have not blessed him 
that made me not such a deformed toad as this." The 
cardinal hearing this, and considering that God had done 
far greater things for him than for this poor shepherd, fell 









job xxxvu. 233 

senseless from his mule ; his servants lifting him up, and 
bringing him to the city, he recovered his senses, and cried 
out, " O, St Austin ! how truly didst thou say, the un- 
learned rise and take heaven by force, and we, with all our 
learning, wallow in flesh and blood !" 

Chap, xxxvi. ver. 5. — Behold, God is mighty, and 
despiseth not any. 

The late Rev. Thomas Charles of Bala, North Wales, 
in a letter to a friend, remarks : — " You say that you are 
without all sense and feeling in religion. I might ask 
you as the Lord did Jonah, — c Doest thou well to com- 
plain ?' Is there not abundantly more cause to be thank- 
ful ? Think of the Lord's goodness, love, and mercy ; 
and this will effectually give you both sense and feeling. 
I often find myself in the frame of mind you describe. But 
when so, if I can but take (and I have been often able) 
even an obscure view of the Lord's goodness to me, so un- 
feeling a creature, then my heart begins to melt, and I re- 
cover in some degree my spiritual senses. It was so with 
me a few days ago, when the words of Elihu affected me 
exceedingly : — < Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth 
not any.' I did not know, previously, what to do with 
myself, feeling myself totally devoid of every thing good. 
But these words — c despiseth not any' — so much affected 
me that I could not but go to the Lord, notwithstanding 
my coldness and insensibility ; and I repeated the words 
as my apology for coming. ( Thou despisest not any, 
therefore I will and must come to thee.' He did not 
frown upon me for my boldness, but filled me with good 
things. Think as bad as you please of yourself; but be 
sure to think well of God." 

Chap, xxxvii. ver. 6. — He saith to the snow, Be 
thou on the earth. 

In a work, called Voyages aux Alpes, which has recently 
been published in Paris, a curious account is given of an 
avalanche which occurred in Switzerland many years ago. 
During the absence of a Swiss farmer, his cottage and 
stable were, by the fall of the avalanche, enclosed in snow ; 
his wife and daughter were at the time in the stable. Six 
weeks afterwards, the snow having melted a little, an open- 
ing was effected, and the two females were found alive, 
u 2 



234 



JOB XL. 



having been supported by the milk of the cow during that 
long period. The space left free from the snow was suffi- 
cient for air, and there was a good winter's stock of provi- 
sions for the cow near the stable, 

Chap, xxxviii. ver. 30. — The waters are hid as 
with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 

A missionary who had brought over a native from India, 
was surprised one day by her saying to him, " O, Sir, what 
wicked men these sailors are ! What do you think they 
have been telling me ? They have been telling me that in 
England, sometimes the water gets so hard that men can 
stand upon it ; but do you think 1 believe them ; no I 
don't !" The missionary replied, " But it is so, my dear, 
and now you believe it, don't you ?" " Yes," said she, 
" I believe it, because you say so : but how can it be ?" 

Chap, xxxix. ver. 28, 29. — She dwelleth and abid- 
eth on the rock. — From thence she seeketh the prey. 

Sir Robert Sibbald relates, that a woman in the Orkney 
Islands, having left her child of about one year old, in a 
field, while she went to some distance, an eagle passing by 
took up the infant by its clothes, and carried it to her nest 
on a neighbouring rock ; which being observed by some 
fishermen, they instantly pursued the eagle, attacked her 
nest, and brought back the child unhurt. 

Chap. xl. ver. 4, o. — Behold, I am vile; what 
shall I answer thee ? I will lav mine hand upon my 
mouth. — Once have I spoken, but I will not answer ; 
yea, twice, but I will proceed no farther. 

" It has been often observed," says Dr Owen, in his 
1 Doctrine of Justification,' " that the school-men them- 
selves, in their meditations and devotional writings, speak a 
language quite different from that which they use in their 
disputes and controversies ; and I had rather learn what 
men really think on this head from their prayers than from 
their writings. Nor do I remember that I ever heard any 
good man, in his prayers, use any expressions about justifi- 
cation, wherein any thing of self-righteousness was intro- 
duced. Nor have I observed that any public liturgies, (the 
Mass-Book excepted,) guide men in their prayers before 
God, to plead any thing for their acceptance with him, or 



job xlii. 235 

as the means or condition thereof, — but grace, mercy, the 
righteousness and blood of Christ alone. 1 ' 

Chap. xli. ver. 25. — When he raiseth up himself, 
the mighty are afraid. 

" I have to report," says a Protestant clergyman in the 
county of Donegal, in Ireland, u a most awful and unpa- 
ralleled event, which took place in Inverbay, on Saturday 
last. Five men in a yawl were in pursuit of a shoal of 
sprats, for bait, with hand-loops, when a whale in pursuit 
of the shoal, with open jaws, came in immediate contact 
with the yawl. Feeling the yawl, the monster dosed his 
jaws and crushed it to pieces, with the exception of the two 
ends, in one of which was a young lad, in the act of putting 
out his loop ; he was the only one out of the five that 
escaped. One man was found crushed, and fastened to a 
piece of the floating wreck. This sad accident took place 
within seventy yards of the deep shelving shore of Bally si- 
gad ; a hundred boats were at the time fishing about a mile 
distant. A bunch of hair from the gills of the whale, 
fastened in a shiver of the wreck, confirmed the idea that 
the boat was destroyed in the way described, which those 
on shore, and those in the boats, agree in attesting." 

Chap. xlii. ver. 10. — And the Lord turned the 
captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. 

w I was lately informed," says a missionary, c< by a pious 
and able minister in Somersetshire, that on the evening 
when the first permanent impressions were made on his 
mind, his pious mother was detained at home. But she 
spent the time devoted to public worship in secret prayer 
for the salvation of her son ; and so fervent did she become 
in these intercessions, that, like our Lord in Gethsemane, 
she fell on her face, and remained in fervent supplications 
till the service had nearly closed. Her son, brought under 
the deepest impressions by the sermon of his father, went 
into a field after the service, and there prayed most fervently 
for himself. When he came home the mother looked at 
her son with a manifest concern, anxious to discover whe- 
ther her prayers had been heard, and whether her son had 
commenced the all-important inquiry, i What shall I do 
to be saved ?' In a few days the son acknowledged him- 
self to be the subject of impressions cf which none need be 



236 PSALM III. 

ashamed ; impressions which lay the foundation of all ex- 
cellence of character here, and of all blessedness hereafter." 



PSALMS. 



Psalm i. ver. 1. — Blessed is the man that walketh 
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in 
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the 
scornful. 

u I have considered it as a great favour of God," says 
Dr Hopkins of America, " that I was born and educated 
in a religious family, and among a people, in a country 
town, where a regard to religion and morality was com- 
mon and prevalent ; and the education of children and 
youth was generally practised in such a degree, that young 
people were generally orderly in their behaviour, and ab- 
stained from those open vices, which were then too common 
in sea -port and populous places. I do not recollect that I 
ever heard a profane word from the children and youth with 
whom I was conversant, while I lived with my parents, 
which was till I was in my fifteenth year." 

Ps. ii. ver. 9. — Thou shalt hreak them with a rod 
of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter s 
vessel. 

Felix, Earl of Wurtemburg, one of the captains of the 
Emperor Charles V., being at supper at Augsburg, in 
company with many who were threatening the sorest punish- 
ments on the persons of the pious Christians of that day, 
swore, before them all, that before he died he would ride 
up to his spurs in the blood of the Lutherans. That same 
night he was choked, probably by the bursting of a blood- 
vessel, which filled his throat, and at once removed him 
from the world. 

Ps. iii. ver. 3. — Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me* 

Luther, when making his way into the presence of Car- 
dinal Cajetan, who had summoned him to answer for his 
heretical opinions at Augsburg, was asked by one of the 
cardinal's minions, where he should find a shelter, if his 



PSALM VI. 237 

patron, the elector of Saxony, should desert him ? " Under 
the shield of heaven !" was the reply. The silenced minion 
turned round, and went his way. 

Ps. iv. ver. 8. — I will both lay me down in peace, 
and sleep, for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in 
safety. 

A gentleman states, that many years ago he was present 
at the opening of a dissenting place of worship, in the town 
of Beaconsfield, in England. After hearing the late Mr 
Cook of Maidenhead, and spending the day very agreeably, 
he took up his lodgings at the principal inn. When he 
entered the house, he found the late Kev. Matthew Wilks 
in the traveller's room. Before supper, Mr Wilks rang 
the bell, and inquired at the master of the house if he had 
a Bible ? He replied that he had. Mr Wilks said, with 
much kindness of manner, " It is always my practice to 
return thanks to God for the mercies of the day, and to 
entreat his protection at night ; and if you, and your wife, 
and servants, will come in, I shall be glad." The master 
of the house made no objection, and his wife and servants, 
and other persons present, came in. Mr W. read the 
Scriptures, and engaged in prayer, in which he manifested 
much spirituality and fervour. 

Ps. v. ver. 3. — My voice shalt thou hear in the 
morning, O Lord ; in the morning will I direct my 
prayer unto thee, and will look up. 

" In the days of our fathers," says Bishop Burnet, "when 
a person came early to the door of his neighbour, and de- 
sired to speak with the master of the house, it was as com- 
mon a thing for the servants to tell him with freedom, — 
4 My master is at prayer,' as it is now to say, ' My master 
is not up.' M 

Ps. vi. ver. 9. — The Lord hath heard my supplica- 
tion ; the Lord will receive my prayer. 

A minister of the gospel, in the north of England, had 
a dissolute son, who was an officer. The father had long 
sought the eternal welfare of his wicked child, but appa- 
rently in vain. On one occasion a remark was made to 
the father on the hopelessness of his son's condition. He 
replied by expressing his confidence, that so many prayeri 



9.SS PSALM XII. 

would not be lost. At length the father died. The son 
was still a profligate. Some time after his father's decease, 
the son was riding the horse on which his father had been 
accustomed to travel to preach the gospel, when a thought 
to the following effect darted into his mind : — t; Poor crea- 
ture, you used to carry a saint, and now you carry a 
devil." The issue was, he embraced religion, and his fa- 
ther's prayers were answered. 

Ps. vii. ver. 4. — I have delivered him that with- 
out cause is mine enemy. 

When Bruce the traveller was in Abyssinia, one of the 
governors, according to the custom of the country, sent him 
twelve horses, saddled and bridled, desiring him to fix on 
one for his own use. The groom urged Bruce to mount 
one of them, assuring him it was a most excellent animal, 
and very quiet and safe to ride. It proved that the horse 
was extremely vicious, of which the man was well aware, 
and apparently had selected him with a malicious intention. 
The traveller, however, was well skilled in horsemanship ; 
and, after a severe contest, he successfully curbed the un- 
ruly animal, completely exhausted him, and descended 
unhurt. The governor expressed the greatest surprise 
and concern at the transaction, and most solemnly protested 
his entire innocence of any design in it, adding, that the 
groom was already in irons, and before many hours passed, 
would be put to death. " Sir," said the traveller, " as this 
man has attempted my life, according to the laws of the 
country, it is I that should name his punishment." M It is 
very true," replied the governor ; u take him, and cut him 
in a thousand pieces, if you please, and give his body to the 
kites." " Are you really sincere in what you say ?" asked 
Bruce, u and will yon have no after excuses ?" He swore 
solemnly that he would not. " Then," said Bruce, " I 
am a Christian ; the way my religion teaches me to punish 
my enemies, is, by doing good for evil, and therefore, I 
keep you to the oath you have sworn. I desire you to set 
this man at liberty, and put him in the place he held before ; 
for he has not been undutiful to you." Every one present 
seemed pleased with these sentiments ; one of the attend- 
ants could not contain himself, but, turning to the governor, 
said, " Did not I tell you what my brother thought about 



PSALM IX. 239 

this man? He was just the same all through Tigne." 
The governor, in a low voice, very justly replied, " A man 
that behaves as he does, may go through any country." 

Ps. viii. ver. 8. — Out of the mouth of babes and 
sucklings hast thou ordained strength. 

E. R., a little boy not more than four years old, having 
been accustomed, from a very early age, to bow at the 
throne of gTace, while his parents engaged in domestic wor- 
ship, feels so lively an interest in that holy duty, that when- 
ever he is absent from the service, he weeps, and discovers 
much concern. He has been attached to the exercise from 
his infancy. One morning, when he was but fifteen months 
old, his father, having some particular business pressing 
upon his attention, was preparing hastily to leave the house, 
without discharging his duty as the priest of his household. 
As soon as the child perceived this, he ran to a chair, and 
knelt down. His father still proceeding to go out, he rose 
up, ran after him, and took hold of his coat to conduct him 
from the door to the usual place at which he knelt while 
engaged in social worship. This affecting deportment of 
the infant, brought the father to tears, and compelled him 
to stay and perform the duty devolving upon him. 

Ps. ix. ver. 10. — They that know thy name will 
put their trust in thee : for thou, Lord, hast not for- 
saken them that seek thee. 

During Mr Legh Richmond's last illness, a friend was 
speaking to him of the immense value and importance of 
their religious principles, when he raised himself upright in 
his chair, and with great solemnity of manner, said, — 
" Brother, we are only half awake — we are none of us more 
than half awake ! — The enemy, as our poor people would 
say, has been very busy with me. I have been in great 
darkness — a strange thought has passed through my mind 
— it is all delusion. Brother, brother, strong evidences, 
nothing but strong evidences, will do at such an hour as 
this. I have looked here and looked there for them — all 
have failed me — and so I rest myself on the sovereign, free, 
and full grace of God, in the covenant by Christ Jesus ; 
and there, brother, (looking at his friend with a smile of 
tranquillity quite indescribable,) there I have found peace.'* 



240 PSALM XIII. 

Ps. x. ver. 4. — God is not in all his thoughts, 
A child, instructed in a Sabbath school, on being asked 
by his teacher, if he could mention a place where God was 
not, made the following beautiful and unexpected reply,— 
" Not in the thoughts of the wicked." 

Ps. xi. ver. 4. — His eyes behold, his eyelids try 
the children of men. 

A man who was in the habit of going into a neighbour's 
corn-field to steal the ears, one day took his son with him, 
a boy of eight years of age. The father told him to hold 
the bag, while he looked if any one was near to see him. 
After standing on the fence, and peeping through all the 
corn rows, he returned and took the bag from the child, and 
began his guilty work. " Father," said the boy, " you 
forgot to look somewhere else." The man dropt the bag in 
a fright, and said, " Which way, child ?" supposing he 
had seen some one. " You forgot to look up to the sky, to 
see if God was noticing you." The father felt this reproof 
of the child so much, that he left the corn, returned home, 
and never again ventured to steal ; remembering the truth 
his child had taught him, that the eye of God always be- 
holds us. 

Ps. xii. ver. 2. — With flattering lips, and with a 
double heart, do they speak. 

When a flattering priest told the emperor Constantine, 
that his godliness and virtues justly deserved to have in 
this life the empire of the world, and in the future life, to 
reign with the Son of God ; the emperor cried,-,—" Fie — 
fie for shame ! let me hear no more such unseemly speeches, 
but rather suppliantly pray to my Almighty Maker, that in 
this life, and in the life to come, I may be reckoned worthy 
to be his servant." 

Ps. xiii. ver. 3. — Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the 
sleep of death. 

A little daughter of Charles I. died when only four years 
old. When on her death-bed, she was desired by one of 
her servants to pray. She said she could not say her long 
prayer, meaning the " Our Father;" but that she would 
try to say her short one. " Lighten my darkness, O Lord 



PSALM XVh 241 

God, and let me not sleep the sleep of death." As she 
said this, she laid her little head on the pillow, and ex- 
pired. 

Ps. xiv. ver. 3. — They are all gone aside, they are 
altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth 
good, no, not one. 

An influential country gentleman, and patron of a church, 
who, in his way, showed great kindness to a clergyman, 
was hearing the minister preach on a subsequent Sahbath. 
When the patron had reached home immediately after 
attending church, he said, " Here is gratitude for you ; 
here I and my family have shown this man the greatest 
kindness, and the return he makes when he gets into the 
pulpit, is to tell us that we are great sinners unless we re- 
pent. He preaches that our good works go for nothing be- 
fore God. This sermon will do very well for a penitentiary, 
a Newgate ; but before a genteel and respectable audience, 
to tell them that they are sinners, is the most extraordinary 
conduct that they ever met with." 

Ps. xv. ver. 3. — He that backbiteth not with his 
tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh 
up a reproach against his neighbour. 

" No man/' observes one of the friends of the late Dr 
Waugh, u was more careful to defend the character of his 
brethren in any thing defensible. On one occasion a mi- 
nister, then a young man, having animadverted, in a com- 
pany where Dr W. was present, on the talents of another 
minister, in a manner which he thought might leave an 
unfavourable impression on the minds of persons present, 

he observed, l I have known Mr many years, and 

I never knew him speak disrespectfully of a brother in my 
life/" 

Ps. xvi. ver. 3. — To the saints that are in the earth, 
and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. 

" On Saturday, about ten o'clock," says the Rev. T. 
Charles of North Wales, in a letter, " I set out from Bris- 
tol. Just as I came to the outside of the gate of the city, 
I met a dear friend, and one whom Jesus loves. I was ex- 
ceedingly glad to see him ; for I never expected to see him 
this side of eternity. He had been in a dangerous decline 
x 



242 PSALM XVIII. 

for this half-year ; but now, through mercy, he is wonder- 
fully recovered. He has nothing to depend on but provi- 
dence ; and the Lord put it into the heart of a rich mer- 
chant in the city to support and provide for him amply 
during the whole of his illness ; so that, though possessing 
nothing, he had every thing to enjoy. He turned his horse 
back, with the intention of accompanying me a mile or two. 
We talked ; and our horses carried us one mile after an- 
other, till we had ridden fifteen miles ; and both ourselves 
and our horses wanted some refreshment. His conversa- 
tion was exceedingly savoury, and truly profitable ; suited 
to one who had been, in his own apprehension and that of 
others, on the borders of heaven. I cannot look on our 
meeting, but as a particular appointment and blessing from 
providence. We stayed two hours together at the inn, and 
parted at last with much regret. You would have smiled 
to see our eyes fixed on each other, till distance obstructed 
our sight. Communion of saints is a blessing indeed. I 
would not, for any thing, have it expunged from our creed." 

Ps. xvii. ver. 15. — As for me, I will behold thy 
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I 
awake, with thy likeness. 

A young man who died some years ago, when feeling the 
approach of death, is said to have uttered these rapturous 
expressions — " I find now it is no delusion ! My hopes 
are well founded ! Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nei- 
ther hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the 
glory I shall shortly partake of ! Read your Bible ! I 
shall read mine no more ! — no more need it ! Can this be 
dying ? This body seems no longer to belong to the soul ! 
It appears only as a curtain that covers it ; and soon I shall 
drop this curtain, and be set at liberty ! I rejoice to feel 
these bones give way, as it tells me, I shall shortly be with 
my God in glory V* 

Ps. xviii. ver. 29. — By thee I have run through a 
troop ; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. 

During the rebellion of 1745, Colonel Gardiner accom- 
panied the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine of Stirling to a meeting 
of the gentlemen of the town ; and when endeavouring to 
inspire the company with the same ardour of patriotic he- 
roism which glowed in his own bosom, he proceeded to 



PSALM XX. 243 

state the deficiencies of the enemy's force in arms, in num- 
bers, and in military talents ; and affirmed that, were he at 
the head of a certain regiment which he once had the ho- 
nour to command, he would not be afraid to encounter their 
whole army. Mr Erskine standing by him, and marking 
his expressions, tapped him gently on the shoulder, and 
thus whispered in his ear, " Colonel, say, under God.'' 9 
That great man, whose piety was equal to his courage, re- 
plied, smiling, " O yes, Mr Erskine, I mean that, and hav- 
ing God for our general, we must be conquerors." 

Ps. xix. ver. 10. — More to be desired are they than 
gold, yea, than much fine gold. 

About the beginning of January 1818, four workmen, 
belonging to the Custom-House in Paris, who had often 

occasion to work for Mr W , a member of the Society 

of Friends, went to receive their new-year's gift. On see- 
ing them, he informed them that he had provided for them 
fifteen franks, (twelve shillings and sixpence,) or, if they 
preferred it, which he would strongly recommend, a Bible. 
" Fifteen franks," said he, "are of little consequence, you 
will soon have spent them ; but the word of God will re- 
main with you, and you will always find in it consolation 
and advice." The eldest of the four said, i( As for me, I 
should very much like the word of God, but it would be 
useless to me, as I cannot read ; and if it makes no differ- 
ence " " Oh," said Mr W , " if you prefer the 

money, here it is." The next two also, on some account 
or other, preferred the franks, and Mr W then address- 
ed the youngest, advising him to choose the Bible. " Since 
you say it is such an excellent book, I would rather," said 
the young man, " have it, and will read a chapter every 
day to my mother." " Let me hear how you can read it," 

said Mr W , and gave him one of the four Bibles. 

On opening it, he found a piece of gold worth forty franks. 

u You see," said Mr W— , "the word of God already 

favours thee. Go home to thy mother." He was unable 
to express his gratitude. We may judge how the others 
looked, when they found each of the Bibles contained forty 
franks. 

Ps. xx. ver. 7. — Some trust in chariots, and some 






244 PSALM XXI. 

in horses : but we will remember the name of the 
Lord our God. 

His Majesty George III. was one day looking at the 
plate which had been recently brought from Hanover, and 
observing one of the articles with the arms of the Electo- 
rate engraved upon it, he said to the domestic who attended 
him, u This belonged to King George II. ; I know it by 
the Latin inscription," which he read, adding, u In English 
it is, / trust in my sword. This," said he, " I always 
disliked ; for had I nothing to trust in but my sword, I 
well know what would be the result ; therefore, when I came 
to the crown, I altered it. My motto is — 6 I trust in the 
truth of the Christian religion.' " He then, with his usual 
condescension, said, " Which of the two inscriptions do 
you like best ?" The attendant replied, " Your Majesty's 
is infinitely preferable to the other." He said, " I have ever 
thought so, and ever shall think so : for therein is my trust 
and confidence." He continued, " Think you, is it possible 
for any one to be happy and comfortable within himself, 
who has not that trust and confidence ? I know there are 
those who affect to be at ease while living in a state of in- 
fidelity; but it is all affectation ; it is only the semblance 
of happiness — the thixg itself is impossible." 

Ps. xxi. ver. 11. — They imagined a mischievous 
device, which they are not able to perform. 

A savage in the South Sea Islands, one day meeting two 
children wandering alone among the mountains, stopped 
them and told the poor creatures he should kill, roast, and 
eat them. The boys said, a Do it, do it ; and don't pre- 
tend that you will, and then you won't." He assured them 
that they should find he was not frightening them with a 
false pretence, for he would do as he said. Accordingly 
he kindled a fire, and was going—as the children, who 
durst not attempt to run away, said afterwards — to kill, 
disembowel, and bake them, in the manner that hogs are 
slaughtered and cooked. Meanwhile some girls coming 
suddenly in sight, and shrieking with alarm, the wretch 
fled into the woods. He was, however, soon hunted out, 
taken, and brought to justice. On his trial he did not 
deny his cannibal purpose ; wherefore, on the testimony of 
the two lads, he was convicted and condemned to be hanged 



PSALM XXIV. 245 

within a fortnight. The sentence was executed, and he 
confessed its justice. 

Ps. xxii. ver. 26. — The meek shall eat and be 
satisfied. 

The Rev. Ebenezer Erskine having gone to assist the 
Rev. Mr Grier of the College Church, Edinburgh, in ad- 
ministering the Lord's Supper, he lodged in the same house 
with Janet Paterson, a pious woman, whom he highly 
esteemed, (being kindly entertained, very probably under 
her own roof.) Finding him somewhat depressed in spirit 
on Sabbath morning, she reminded him of the promise, — 
" The meek shall eat and be satisfied," — adding, that these 
words had frequently been made sweet to her soul, on his 
account. Mr Grier preached on that text, — u My flesh is 
meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed ;" and the first 
words he read to be sung after sermon, were the same that 
Janet Paterson had suggested for his encouragement in the 
morning. This, he says, melted his heart, and called forth 
ardent wishes that the promise might be accomplished to 
his soul. 

Ps. xxiii. ver. 5. — Thou anointest my head with 
oil ; my cup runneth over. 

" I confess," says Captain Wilson, " that, since my re- 
turn from India, I have been forcibly struck with several 
things, which prove the Scriptures to be an eastern book. 
For instance, the language of one of the Psalms, where 
David says, 6 Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup run- 
neth over/ most likely alludes to a custom which continues 
to this day. I once had this ceremony performed on my- 
self, in the house of a rich Indian, in the presence of a large 
company. The gentleman of the house poured upon my 
hands and arms, a delightfully odoriferous perfume, put a 
golden cup into my hand, and poured wine into it till it 
ran over, assuring me, at the same time, that it was a great 
pleasure to him to receive me, and I should find a rich 
supply in his house. I think the inspired poet expressed 
his sense of the Divine goodness by this allusion. " 

Ps. xxiv. ver. 6. — This is the generation of them 
that seek him. 

Of the Rev. Mr Blackerby, it is said,—" He was much 
x 2 



246 PSALM XXVII. 

in prayer : — much in closet prayer — much in walking prayer 
— much in conjugal prayer, for he prayed daily with his 
wife alone — much in family prayer, daily with his own 
family — and almost daily with some other family. He used 
to ride about, from family to family, and only alight and 
pray with them, and give them some heavenly exhortation, 
and then went away to some other family. Also, he was 
very much in fasting and prayer." 

Ps. xxy. ver. 15. — Mine eyes are ever toward the 
Lord. 

Right use of the eyes — An old author says, "We 
ought not to look for that in the law, which can only be 
found in the gospel, — not to look for that in ourselves, which 
can only be found in Christ,— not to look for that in the 
creature, which can only be found in the Creator, — not to 
look for that on earth, which can only be found in heaven. *' 

Ps. xxvi. ver. 8. — Lord, I have loved the habita- 
tion of thy honse, and the place where thine honour 
dwelleth. 

Mr W. Sparshalt, many years an officer in his Majesty's 
navy, was so remarkable for his attachment to the house 
and ordinances of God, that he was never known to absent 
himself from his own place of worship except once, during 
his whole religious career ; and though at times he was so 
afflicted with deafness that he could not hear a word, he 
nevertheless continued to fill his place in the sanctuary. 
He said that he felt it his duty thus to honour divine insti- 
tutions, and that he felt an advantage in it. In this case 
he was accustomed to read and meditate on the hymns 
sung, and the Scriptures which were read : in the time of 
prayer he prayed for himself, and during the sermon, he 
would get a friend to show the text, and would employ his 
mind in reflection on it. In this way it is probable that he 
derived more benefit from the means of grace, than many 
who are not thus afflicted. 

Ps. xxvii. ver. 1 0. — When my father and my mo- 
ther forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. 

The following circumstance occurred some years ago at 
Warrington, and is related by a gentleman of respectabi- 
lity : — " About three weeks ago, two little boys decently 



PSALM XXVIII. 247 

clothed, the eldest appearing about thirteen, and the young- 
est eleven, called at the lodging-house for vagrants in thi3 
town, for a night's lodging ; the keeper of the house very 
properly took them to the vagrants' office to be examined, 
and if fit objects, to be relieved. The account they gave of 
themselves was extremely affecting. It appeared, that but a 
few weeks had elapsed since these poor little wanderers had 
resided with their parents in London. The typhus fever in 
one day carried ofr both father and mother, leaving them 
orphans in a wide world, without a home and without 
friends. After the death of their parents, having an uncle 
in Liverpool, they resolved to throw themselves upon his 
protection. Tired, therefore, and faint, they arrived in this 
town on their way. Two bundles contained their little all ; 
in the younger boy's was found a neatly covered and care- 
fully preserved Bible. The keeper of the lodging-house, 
addressing the little boy, said, — fc You have neither money 
nor meat ; will you sell me this Bible ? I will give you 
five shillings for it.' ' No,' replied he, the tears rolling 
down his cheeks, fc I will starve first.' 4 Why do you love 
the Bible so much ?' He answered, ' No book has stood 
my friend so much as my Bible.' fc Why, what has your 
Bible done for you ?' He answered, c When I was a little 
boy, about seven years of age, I became a Sunday scholar 
in London. Through the kind attention of my master, I 
soon learned to read my Bible ; this Bible, young as I was, 
showed me that I was a sinner ; it also pointed me to a 
Saviour, and I thank God that I found mercy at the hands 
of Christ, and I am not ashamed to confess him before the 
world. The Bible has been my support all the way from 
London ; hungry and weary, often have I sat down by the 
wayside to read my Bible, and have found refreshment from 
it." He was then asked, c What will you do when you get 
to Liverpool, should your uncle refuse to take you in ?' He 
replied, < My Bible tells me, When my father and my 
mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.' " 

Ps. xxviii. ver. 3. — Draw me not away with the 
wicked, and with the workers of iniquity. 

A gentleman, at breakfast with Mr Newton, told the 
company of two seamen, under sentence of death for the 
mutiny at Bantry-bay, having been brought to the know- 
ledge of Jesus. The sentence being reunited, they were 



2-±8 PSALM XXX. 

sent to the hulks at Woolwich. This gentleman providen- 
tially met with a letter from one of them to his father, in 
which he complained most pathetically of the dreadful 
company with which he was surrounded. The letter, al- 
together, was a most christian one, and very well expressed. 
The writer was afraid cf relapsing into his former profli- 
gacy, if he continued amongst horrid company in the 
hulks. Upon hearing this relation, Mr Newton remarked, 
M They would be in a more dangerous situation, were they 
placed amongst a set of smooth reasoners in the higher 
circles of life : — at present they are kept on watch ; in the 
other case they would be off their guard, and more likely 
to receive damage." 

Ps. xxix. ver. 7. — The voice of the Lord breaketh 
the cedars. 

Some time ago, about thirty persons were engaged in 
hay-making in Yorkshire. At a time when the rain was 
pouring down in torrents, the lightning awfully vivid, and 
the thunder rolling with tremendous crashes over their 
heads, they were all hastening, with one accord, to the 
offered shelter of a beautiful large oak tree ; but by the 
persuasions of their master's brother, who happened to be 
with them, and who had heard of accidents frequently oc- 
curring from the attraction which trees afforded to the light- 
ning, they were induced to forego their first intention, and 
to take shelter under some of the hay. Scarcely had they 
reached the hay, when they saw that tree, under which they 
had been so eager to shelter themselves, struck with the 
lightning, the large trunk split from the top to the bottom, 
and all the leaves blasted and withered. How grateful 
should these men have been for so merciful a preservation 
from danger so imminent ! 

Ps. xxx. ver. 5. — Weeping may endure for a night, 
but joy cometh in the morning. 

The Rev. James Hog of Camock, an eminent minister, 
was long under deep mental distress. When he had lived 
in Holland for a considerable time, it pleased God unex- 
pectedly to impart a great measure of light to his mind. 
" O how sweet," says he, " the light was to me, who had 
been shut up in a dark dungeon ! for sometimes I could do 
nothing but cry, c Send out thy light and thy truth.' After 



PSALM xxxir. 249 

I had thus cried, not without some experience of a gracious 
answer, and expectation of more, I quickly found my 
soul brought out of prison, and breathing in a free and 
heavenly air ; altogether astonished at the amazing mercy 
and grace of God." 

Ps. xxxi. ver. 23. — The Lord preserveth the faith- 
ful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 

When the Rev. Mr Galland was minister at Ilikiston, in 
Nottinghamshire, an ungodly man threatened his life, be- 
cause he supposed his preaching had contributed to the 
fanaticism of his son's wife, — a crime that could not be for- 
given. He vowed no less a vengeance than death, and 
sought an opportunity to execute it ; but the Lord, who 
defends his people, took care of his servant, and shielded 
his head in the hour of danger. Having heard that there 
was a prayer-meeting at his sen's house, on the Sabbath 
morning, he repaired thither with the instrument of death ; 
having been hardened to his purpose by drinking all the 
preceding night. His companions in wickedness, however, 
endeavoured to dissuade him from his design, and to wrest 
the knife from his hand, with which he meant to perform 
the murderous deed. He repaired to the place, breathing 
threatening and slaughter : but he was disappointed of his 
victim ; his information respecting the meeting was incor- 
rect. Divine judgment overtook him, however, — for on his 
return he fell into a ditch, and was found dead. 

Ps. xxxii. ver. 7. — Thou art my hiding-place : 
thou shalt preserve me from trouble ; thou shalt com- 
pass me about with songs of deliverance. 

Cowper the poet, who was subject to mental derangement, 
once resolved to throw himself into the Thames. — For this 
purpose, he got into a hackney coach, and desired the man 
to drive him to Blackfriars Bridge. The man drove all 
over London, but could not find the place ; this was un- 
accountable, as the driver was well acquainted with London. 
" O !" said Cowper, " you have driven me quite far enough, 
drive me home again." He went into his room, and com* 
posed that beautiful hymn, — 

»' God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform ;" &c. 



250 PSALM XXXV. 

Ps. xxxiii. ver, 15. — He fashioneth their hearts 

alike. 

"When Mr Occam, the Indian preacher, was in England, 
he visited Mr Newton of London, and they compared expe- 
riences. " Mr Occam, " says Mr Newton, "in describing 
to me the state of his heart, when he was a blind idolater, 
gave me, in general, a striking picture of what fmy own 
was in the early part of my life ; and his subsequent views 
correspond with mine, as face answers to face in a glass, 
though I dare say, when he received them, he had never 
heard of Calvin's name.'" 

Ps. xxxiv. ver. 9. — O fear the Lord, ye his saints ; 
for there is no want to them that fear him. 

A poor widow, left with three small children, who lived 
in the adjoining parish to St Mary's Leicester, and to whom 
Mr Robinson's preaching had been useful, and who was in 
the constant practice of going to his Tuesday evening lec- 
ture, was one of these evenings sitting spinning at her 
wheel, engaged in deep meditation, her soul longing for the 
eourts of the Lord. "While thus engaged, the sound of St 
Mary's bells caught the ear of one of her children, who were 
playing in her little apartment. The child instantly ran to 
his mother, exclaiming, i( Mother, don't you go to church?" 
The poor woman heavily sighed, and said, " No, my dear, 
if I don't stop at home and spin this wool, you will have no 
supper." By this time the other two children had come to 
her wheel ; and having heard what had been said, the 
youngest eagerly exclaimed, 4i O, mam, go turch ; God 
send us supper." Struck by this remark of her child, she 
set aside her wheel, and went to the church. Having got 
wet in returning home, she sat by her little fire, drying her 
clothes, when a neighbour entered her room, and said, 
c< Betty, I owe you twopence, and I am come to pay you." 
Betty answered, " Why, neighbour, I don't know you owe 
me ought." " Yes, but I do ; I borrowed twopence of you 
a year and a half since, and it is just come into my mind.'* 
She then paid her the twopence, and bid her good -night. 
The poor widow was filled with surprise and gratitude, and 
immediately sent one of her children to buy a cake, and 
thus satisfied the wants of nature. 

Ps. xxxv. ver. 13, 14. — But as for me, when they 



PSALM XXXVI. 251 

■were sick, my clothing was sackcloth : I humbled 
my soul with fasting ; ard my prayer returned into 
mine own bosom. — 1 behaved myself as though he 
had been my friend or my brother. 

The late Mr Brown of Haddington manifested a singular 
readiness to forgive his enemies. Notwithstanding the 
abuse he received from some ministers, when a student, it 
was remarked, that he was never heard to speak evil of 
them, nor so much as to mention the affair. A dissenting 
clergyman, who had used him rudely, being reduced to 
poverty, he sent him money, and in a way which concealed 
the benefactor. After the clergyman's decease, he offered 
to take one of his destitute orphans, and bring him up with 
his own children. To certain writers who reviled him from 
the press, he meekly replied, u But now that the fact is 
committed, instead of intending to resent the injury these 
reverend brethren have done me, I reckon myself, on 
account thereof, so much the more effectually obliged, by 
the christian law, to contribute my utmost endeavours to- 
wards the advancement of their welfare, spiritual or tempo- 
ral, and am resolved, through grace, to discharge these 
obligations, as Providence gives me opportunity, for the 
same. Let them do to, or with me, what they will, may 
their portion be redemption through the blood of Jesus, 
even the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his 
grace ; arid call me what they please, may the Lord call 
them, ' The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord ; sought 
oat, a city not forsaken.* " 

Ps. xxxvi. ver. 8. — They shall be abundantly sa- 
tisfied with the fatness of thy house : and thou shalt 
make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasures. 

A little girl said to a gentleman, who was never known 
to enter the house of God, — " Sir, why don't you go to 
church ; for I am sure, such as you are, you need food as 
well as myself?" The gentleman answered her, "Pray, 
who feeds you, and what kind of food is it that you receive 
at church ?" She replied, " Sir, it is God who feeds me 
there, and his word is the food I am supplied with ; and I 
assure you, that though my mother, being very poor, is 
sometimes scarcely able to give me food to eat, yet, fed as 
I am every Sunday with the bread of life, I never know 



252 PSALM XXXVIII. 



what the pains of hunger are." The gentleman, astonished 
at what he heard from the little girl, resolved from that 
time to attend the service of the sanctuary ; and he has ad- 
hered to his determination, and now feels and confesses the 
great pleasure and profit that arises from a constant attend- 
ance on the means of grace. 

Ps. xxxvii. ver. 8. — Trust in the Lord, and do good ; 
so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt 
be fed. 

A good man, overwhelmed with trouble, and unable to 
extricate himself, or procure a friend in the hour of neces- 
sity, came to the resolution, as his last resource, of leaving 
his native country. There remained one Lord's day more 
previous to his departure, and from an apprehension that it 
would be the last he should ever spend in his own land, it 
impressed him with more than usual solemnity. When at 
the house of God, the text which the minister selected for 
the subject of his discourse was the preceding, — " Trust in 
the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, 
and verily thou shalt be fed." On hearing these words, he 
found his attention particularly arrested ; nor did he feel 
himself less interested in the sermon, every sentence of 
which appeared peculiarly applicable to his circumstances, 
and led him to conclude the whole to be the voice of Pro- 
vidence. Impressed with this conviction, he changed his 
purpose, and resolved to struggle against the torrent of adver- 
sity, and await the pleasure of his God concerning him. 
The appointed time to favour him soon arrived. The Lord 
quickly turned his captivity like that of Job, and caused his 
latter end to be more blessed than his beginning. 

Ps. xxxviii. ver. 12. — They also that seek after 
my life lay snares for me. 

While Mr George Wishart was preaching at Dundee, 
Cardinal Beaton employed a popish priest to assassinate him. 
One day after the sermon was ended, and the people had 
departed, the priest stood waiting at the bottom of the stairs, 
with a dagger in his hand, under his gown. But Mr 
Wishart having a sharp piercing eye, and seeing the priest 
as he came, said to him, " My friend, what would you 
have ?" And immediately seizing the dagger, took it from 
him. The priest, being terrified, fell down upon his knees, 



led 






PSALM XL I. %53 

confessed his intention, and craved pardon. A noise being 
hereupon raised, the people said, u Deliver the traitor to us, 
or we will take him by force ;" and they burst in at the 
gate. But Wishart, taking the priest in his arms, said, — 
" Whosoever hurts him shall hurt me, for he hath done 
me no mischief, but much good, by teaching me more heed- 
fulness for the time to come." And thus he appeased them, 
and saved the priest's life. 

Ps. xxxix. ver. 1. — I said, I will take heed to my 
ways, that I sin not with my tongue. 

Dr Johnson, giving advice to an intimate friend, said, — 
4( Above all, accustom your children constantly to tell the 
truth, without varying in any circumstance." A lady pre- 
sent, emphatically exclaimed, " Nay, this is too much ; for 
a little variation in narrative must happen a thousand times 
a day, if one is not perpetually watching." " Well, Ma- 
dam," replied the doctor, " and you ought to be perpetually 
watching. It is more from carelessness about truth, than 
from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in 
the world." 

Ps. xl. ver. 9. — I have preached righteousness in 
the great congregation ; lo, I have not refrained my 
lips. 

Dr Payson's " ruling passion was strong in death." His 
love for preaching was as invincible as that of the miser for 
gold, who dies grasping his treasure. He directed a label 
to be attached to his breast, with the words, e * Remember 
the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet present 
with you ;" that they might be read by all who came to 
look at his corpse, and by which he, being dead, still spake. 
The same words, at the request of his people, were engraven 
on the plate of the coffin, and read by thousands on the 
day of his interment. 

Ps. xli. ver. 5. — Mine enemies speak evil of me. 

Mr Philip Henry used to remind those who spoke evil 
of people behind their backs, of that law, — " Thou shalt 
not curse the deaf." Those that are absent are deaf, they 
cannot right themselves, and therefore say no ill of them, 
A friend of his, inquiring of him concerning a matter which 
tended to reflect upon some people ; he began to give him 

Y 



254 PSALM XLIV. 

an account of the story, but immediately broke off, and 
checked himself with these words, — " But our rule is, to 
speak evil of no man," and would proceed no farther in the 
story. The week before he died, a person requested the 
loan of a particular book from him. " Truly," said he, "I 
would lend it to you, but that it rakes in the faults of some, 
which should rather be covered with a mantle of love." 

Ps. xlii. ver. 3.— Where is thy God ? 

During the American war, a British officer, walking out 
at sun-rising, observed at some distance an old man, whom 
he supposed taking aim at some game. When come up 
to him, the officer took him by the arm, and said, " What 
are you about ?" The old man made no reply, but waved 
his hand expressive of his desire for him to stand at a dis- 
tance. This not satisfying the inquirer, he repeated the 
question, when the native again waved his hand. At 
length, somewhat astonished, the officer said, " You old 
fool, what are you about ?" To which he answered, u I 
am worshipping the Great Spirit. " The question was 
then asked, " Where is he to be found ?" To which the 
old man replied, " Soldier ! ivhere is he not V* and with 
such energy of expression as made the officer confess he 
should never forget it to his dying day. 

Ps. xliii. ver. 3. — O send out thy light and thy 
truth. 

It is recorded of one of the Reformers, that when he had 
acquitted himself in a public disputation with great credit 
to his Master's cause, a friend begged to see the notes which 
he had been observed to write, supposing that he had taken 
down the arguments of his opponents, and sketched the 
substance of his own reply. Greatly was he surprised to 
find that his notes consisted simply of these ejaculatory pe- 
titions, "More light, Lord, — more light, more light !" 

Ps. xliv. ver. 6, 7. — For I will not trust in my 
bow, neither will my sword save me. — But thou hast 
saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to 
shame that hated us. 

During the revolutionary war of America, General Wash- 
ington's army was reduced at one time to great straits, and 
the inhabitants of the part of the country where his army 



PSALM XLVII. 255 

was encamped, were much alarmed at the prospect of its 
destruction. One of them, who left his home with an 
anxious heart, one day, as he was passing the edge of a 
wood near the camp, heard the sound of a voice. He 
stopped to listen, and looking between the trunks of the 
large trees, he saw General Washington engaged in prayer. 
He passed quietly on, that he might not disturb him, and 
on returning home, told his family, that he was cheered 
with a confident hope of the success of the Americans, for 
their leader did not trust to his own strength, but sought 
aid from the Hearer of prayer, who promised in his word— 
" Call unto me, and I will answer, and show thee great 
and mighty things which thou knowest not." 

Ps. xlv. ver. 13. — The King's daughter is all glo- 
rious within : her clothing is of wrought gold. 

One day, a poor pious woman called upon two elegant 
young ladies, who received her with christian affection, re- 
gardless of her poverty, and sat down in the drawing-room, 
to converse with her upon religious subjects. While thus 
employed, their brother, a gay youth, came in, and ap- 
peared astonished to see his sisters thus situated and em- 
ployed. One of them instantly started up, saying,—. 
cc Brother, don't be surprised ; this is a King's daughter, 
though she has not yet got on her fine clothes." 

Ps. xlvi. ver. 11. — The Lord of hosts is with us ; 
the God of Jacob is our refuge. 

The late Rev. John Wesley, after a long life of great 
labour and usefulness, concluded his course in peace and 
holy triumph. A short time before his departure, a person 
coming into the room, he strove to speak to him, but could 
not. Finding they could not understand him, he paused a 
little, and with all the remaining strength he had, cried 
out, — " The best of all is, God is with us ,*" and then 
lifting up his dying arm in token of victory, and raising his 
feeble voice with a holy triumph, not to be expressed, he 
again repeated the heart-reviving words — " The best of all 
is, God is with us." 

Ps. xlvii. ver. 6. — Sing praises to God, sing praises : 
sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 

M Among others of our edifying compositions," says Mr 



256 PSALM XLIX. 



ink 



Hervey in a letter to Dr Watts, " I have reason to thank 
yon for your Sacred Songs, which I have introduced into 
the service of my church ; so that in the solemnities of the 
Sabbath, and in a lecture on the week-day, your muse lights 
up the incense of our praise, and furnishes our devotions 
with harmony." 

Ps. xlviii. ver. 3, 4, 5. — God is known in her pa- 
laces for a refuge. — For, lo, the kings were assembled, 
they passed by together. — They saw it, and so they 
marvelled ; they were troubled, and hasted away. 

During the rebellion in Ireland in 1793, the rebels had 
long meditated an attack on the Moravian settlement at 
Grace-Hill, Wexford county. At length they put their 
threat in execution, and a large body of them marched to 
the town. When they arrived there, they saw no one in the 
streets nor in the houses. The brethren had long expected 
this attack, but true to their christian profession, they would 
not have recourse to arms for their defence, but assembled 
in their chapel, and in solemn prayer besought Him, in 
whom they trusted, to be their shield in the hour of danger. 
The ruffian band, hitherto breathing nothing but destruc- 
tion and slaughter, were struck with astonishment at this 
novel sight. Where they expected an armed hand, they 
saw it clasped in prayer — where they expected weapon to 
weapon, and the body armed for the fight, they saw the 
bended knee and humble head before the altar of the Prince 
of Peace. They heard the praver for protection — they heard 
the intended victims asking mercy for their murderers — they 
heard the song of praise, and the hymn of confidence, in the 
" sure promise of the Lord." They beheld in silence this 
little band of Christians— they felt unable to raise their 
hand against them< — and, after lingering in the streets, 
which they rilled for a night and a day, with one consent 
they turned and marched away from the place, without 
having injured an individual, or purloined a single loaf of 
bread- In consequence of this signal mark of protection 
from heaven, the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages 
brought their goods, and asked for shelter in Grace-Hill, 
which they called the City of Refuge. 

Ps. xlix. ver. 5. — Wherefore should I fear in the 



psaCm lii. 257 

days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall com- 
pass me about ? 

A friend, surprised at the serenity and cheerfulness which 
the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine possessed in the immediate 
view of death and eternity, put the question, — <c Sir, are you 
not afraid of your sins ?" " Indeed no," was his answer ; 
" ever since I knew Christ, I have never thought highly of 
my frames and duties, nor am I slavishly afraid of my 
sins." 

Ps. 1. ver. 20. — Thou sittest and speakest against 
thy brother. 

The late Rev. S. Pearce, of Birmingham, was a man of 
an excellent spirit. It was a rule with him to discourage 
all evil speaking; nor would he approve of just censure, 
unless some good and necessary end was to be answered by 
it. Two of his distant friends being at his house together, 
one of them, during the temporary absence of the other, 
suggested something to his disadvantage. He put a stop 
to the conversation, by observing — " He is here : — take 
him aside, and tell him of it by himself: you may do him 
good." 

Ps. li. ver. 3. — I acknowledge my transgressions ; 
and my sin is ever before me. 

Sir John Brenton, royal navy, brought home from the 
Cape of Good Hope, a clever little Hottentot boy, and in a 
letter to Dr Philip, states that a change had taken place in 
the character of the boy ; in proof of which he adds, — " A 
clergyman asked him which character in the Old Testament 
he would rather have been, if it were left to his choice. The 
boy replied, c David's.' ' Why David's rather than Solo- 
mon's, whose reign was so glorious ?' ' Why ? We have 
evidence of David's repentance,' said the lad, < but I don't 
find any thing in the Bible, that enables me to draw the 
same satisfactory conclusion concerning the repentance of 
Solomon.' " 

Ps. lii. ver. 5. — God shall likewise destroy thee 
for ever ; he shall take thee away, and pluck thee 
out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the 
land of the living. 

Mr Rowe, a non-conformist minister, who had been 
Y 2 



258 PSALM LV. 

ejected from Litchet, was informed against for preaching in 
a cottage among his old parishioners. He escaped into an- 
other county ; but many of the hearers were apprehended 
and carried before a justice, who hearing that Mr Rowe's 
text had been, " r»Iortify your members which are upon the 
earth," profanely burlesqued the words, and uttered many 
indecencies. Not long after, he was seized with a mortal 
disease, which was of such a nature., that on his death-bed 
he declared it was a just judgment on him for his profane- 
ness in this instance. The informer himself soon after- 
wards had the use of one side taken from him, and died in 
that state : and a peace officer, who had assisted him in dis- 
turbing the meeting, was within a few weeks killed by his 
own cart, directly opposite to the house where the meeting 
was held. 

Ps. liii. ver. 1. — The fool hath said in his heart, 
There is no God. 

The three young men who were executed in Edinburgh, 
in 1812, immediately after committing the robberies for 
which they suffered, had gone to Glasgow ; and one even- 
ing they heard the family with whom they lodged, employed 
in the worship of God. This struck their minds exceed- 
ingly, and suggested the question, — Whether there is a 
God, and a world to come ? After some discussion they 
came to this conclusion, — " That there is no God, and no 
world to come !" — a conclusion, as they themselves acknow- 
ledged, to which they came on this sole ground — and how 
much of the infidelity that abounds in the world rests on no 
better ? — that they wished it to be so. 

Ps. liv. ver. 5. — He shall reward evil unto mine 
enemies. 

In the reign of Henry VII., Dr Whittington, a bishop's 
chancellor, having condemned a pious woman to the flames 
at Chipping, Sodbury, went to that town to witness the 
courageous manner in which she set her seal to the truth of 
the gospel. On his return from that affecting scene, a fu- 
rious bull passed through the crowd, none of whom suffered 
from him, gored the chancellor, and suddenly inflicted 
death in a most awful manner. 

Ps. lv. ver. 17. — Evening, and morning, and at 
noon, will I pray, and cry aloud : and he shall hear 
my voice. 



PSALM LVII. 259 

cc A short time since," says a lady, " I was one evening 
with a friend, after having dismissed my children for the 
night, when a servant came in and whispered to me, that 
my eldest boy, about six years of age, was crying very much, 
and said he must speak to me. As it was very unusual for 
me to hear such an account of him, I was much concerned, 
and hastened to his bed-room, when I found him in the 
greatest distress and agitation. On inquiring the cause, 
he said, ; O, mamma, nurse has put me to bed without 
hearing me say my prayers, and I dare not go to sleep, 
without asking God to watch over me while I sleep.' As 
he had been some time in bed, and was quite feverish from 
agitation, I feared his taking cold, and desired him to kneel 
on the bed. He gave me a most expressive look, and re- 
plied, c No, mamma, I must kneel on the floor ; God will 
not listen to me if 1 say my prayers in bed.' Such views 
had he of the spiritual nature of prayer, and of the reverence 
due to the Great Creator. 

Ps. lvi. ver. 9. — When I cry unto thee, then shall 
mine enemies turn back. 

The Rev. Thomas Bradbury, having one evening called 
his servants to family worship, which he regularly observed, 
they came up stairs without recollecting to shut the area 
door, next the street. Some fellows seeking to commit 
robbery, happened to observe the door open, and one of 
them getting over the palisadoes, entered the house. Creep- 
ing up stairs, he heard the old gentleman praying, that 
God would preserve his house from thieves. The man was 
so struck as to be unable to persist in his wicked design. 
He therefore returned and told the circumstance to his 
companions, who abused him for his timidity. But the 
man himself was so affected, that soon after, he related the 
event to Mr B. and became an attendant on his ministry. 

Ps. Ivii. ver. 1. — In the shadow of thy wings will 
I make my refuge, until these calamities be over- 
past. 

At one time, when a pious minister of the gospel was 
passing over a hill, a lark, pursued by a hawk, took refuge 
in his bosom ; he kindly lodged the little refugee, till, hav- 
ing reached a considerable distance from its persecutor, he 
gave it liberty to soar and sing in safety. The circum- 



SCO 



PSALM LIX. 



stance suggested to his mind a train of happy thoughts, 
which he brought forward in a discourse from Psalm xxxiv. 
22 — " The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants ; and 
none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.'" 

Ps. lviii. ver. 4, 5. — They are like the deaf adder 
that stoppeth her ear ; which Trill not hearken to 
the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. 

The preceding passage has been often referred to, as ex- 
pressing the unwillingness of sinners to receive divine truth, 
and to comply with the call of the gospel. The following 
anecdote exhibits an instance of this kind : — 

The late 3ir Friend, with some other missionaries, on one 
occasion met a number of heathen, including several Brah- 
mins, and during the interview, they were plainly and 
coarsely told, that they were gross deceivers, who were 
about to ensnare the people. " Anxious that we should 
not leave this band of idolaters," adds Mr Friend, " without 
reading to them some portion of truth, I proposed that a 
tract should be read. No sooner, however, was that pro- 
posed, than an old man rose and said, c Nay, excuse me, I 
must make my salam • this may do for a bazaar, but it 
will not do here ; we are not to be taken in your net ; you 
will not make converts of us.' Probably superstition, as 
well as fear, prompted this conduct, for the natives declare, 
that there is a spell in our books. True, the gospel is the 
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth : 
but, alas for those who refuse to hear its message ! These 
poor creatures were sad examples of those whom the god of 
this world hath blinded, lest the light of the glorious gospel 
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto 
them." 

Ps. lix. ver. 12. — For the sin of their month, and 
the words of their lips, let them even he taken in 
their pride ; and for cursing and lying which they 
speak. 

Some years ago, a person of considerable property and 
eminence in the city of N , who lived in habits of im- 
piety and profaneness, was seized by an indisposition, which 
induced him to call a medical gentleman; but being dis- 
appointed for a time, by his absence from home, he fell into 
a violent agitation, which was vented in horrid imprecations. 
As soon as the medical gentleman arrived, he was saluted 



PSALM LXI. 26l 

with volleys of oaths. The violence of his agitation broke 
a blood-vessel ; so that oaths and blood continued to flow 
from his mouth till he could speak no longer ; and in this 
situation he expired. The physician was much affected 
by the awful dispensation — Bishop Hall observes, that 
" suddenness of death certainly argues anger, when it finds 
us in an act of sin. God strikes some, that he may warn 
all." 

Ps. lx. ver. 11, 12. — Give us help from trouble; 
for vain is the help of man. — Through God we shall 
do valiantly : for he it is that shall tread down our 
enemies. 

Henry IV. of France, uttered the following prayer, just 
before a battle, in which he obtained a complete victory : — 
" O Lord of Hosts ! who canst see through the thickest 
veil, and closest disguise ; who viewest the bottom of my 
heart, and the deepest designs of my enemies ; who hast 
in thine hands, as well as before thine eyes, all the events 
which concern human life ; if thou knowest that my reign 
will promote thy glory, and the safety of thy pecple ; if 
thou knowest that 1 have no other ambition in my soul, 
but to advance the honour of thy holy name, and the good 
of this state ; favour, O great Gcd ! the justice of my arms, 
and reduce all the rebels to acknowledge him, whom thy 
sacred decrees, and the order of a lawful succession, have 
made their sovereign : but if thy good providence has ordered 
it otherwise, and thou seest that I should prove one of those 
kings whom thou givest in thine anger, take from me, O 
merciful God ! my life and my crown ; make me this 
day a sacrifice to thy will ; let my death end the calamities 
of France, and let my blood be the last that is spilt in this 
quarrel." 

Ps. lxi. ver. 2. — Lead me to the Rock that is higher 
than I. 

A few days before the death of a pious little girl, her 
father had been preaching from the above passage. Upon 
rejoining his afflicted family, the text was mentioned, and 
an outline of the sermon given, with which she appeared 
powerfully arrested. Upon the remark being made, that 
Christ is constantly spoken of both in the Old and New 
Testaments as a Hock, especially in the Psalms, and how 



262 PSALM LXIV. 

delightful it was to the believer, that when placed upon this 
Rock, the storms of life or of death could net remove him, 
for there he was safe, she seemed to derive much strength 
and comfort from what had been brought to her notice ; 
and in all the subsequent readings of the Psalms, whenever 
the Rock was spoken of, she stopped her mother, saying, 
4; Here, mamma, is the Rock again." 

Ps. Ixii. ver. 10. — If riches increase, set not your 

heart upon them. 

Some years before the death of the Rev. Andrew Fuller, 
a friend had taken him to the bank, when one of the clerks, 
to whom he had occasion to speak, showed him some ingots 
of gold. Mr Fuller seemed to tarry as he balanced one of 
them in his hand, while his companion was in haste to be 
gone. Thoughtfully eyeing the gold, he said, as he laid it 
down, u How much better is it to have this in the hand than 
in the heart /" 

Ps. farm, ver. 2. — To see thy power and thy glory, 
so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. 

The Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, on the first Sabbath after 
his settlement at Stirling, allowed the congregation to con- 
tinue singing considerably longer than usual, before he rose 
to offer up the first prayer. Some of his elders, who had 
observed the circumstance, and apprehended that it was the 
consequence of indisposition, when they saw him next day, 
made kind inquiries respecting his health. He told them, 
that his delaying so long to stand up was owing to no bodily 
complaint : " but the days of grace he had enjoyed at 
Portmoak (where he was formerly minister) came afresh 
to his remembrance, with these words, c I am the God of 
Bethel ;' and his mind was so overpowered, that he scarcely 
knew how to rise." 

Ps. Ixiv. ver. 7. 8. — God shall shoot at them with 
an arrow ; suddenly shall they be wounded. — So they 
-hall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves : 
all that see them shall flee away. 

The striking fact, detailed in the following lines of 
. took place in the spring of 1812, at a public-house 
in Rochester, in the county of Kent : — 



PSALM LXV. %63 

Now to ray tale and ditty 

I beg you'll lend an ear ; 
Two sailors in a city 

Began to curse and swear. 
The one was a brawler, a slave to his sin, 
On mischief was bent, and in haste to begin : 
In a tempest of v. rath he swore he would fight, 
Take vengeance on Robert, and kill him outright. 
Alas ! how this wretch was transported with rage, 
He deserv'd to be iron'd and put in a cage. 
The old man, the landlord, himself mterier'd, 
He raised his voice, and his arm he uprear'd : 
" Suppose, wicked rascal, God you should strike dead, 
And send you to heli with his curse on your head !" 
The sailor replied, with an oath most severe, 
" God cannot do that— give the tankard of beer ; 
If he can— to the regions of hell I will sink, 
Before this good liquor of yours I shall drink !" 

The tankard he seized, with an oath most profane, 
But he instantly /^//, as one that was slain ! 
He spoke not a word, nor a sigh did he heave, 
The Judge would not grant him one moment's reprieve ; 
The terror created, each mind petrified, 
To think that a man his great Maker defied ! 
They gaz'd on his corpse— ah ! the spirit was fled, 
The stroke was severe— now the sinner was dead. 

Ps. lxv. ver. 5. — By terrible things in righteous- 
ness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation. 

The Rev. Dr Lathrop of America, illustrating in a ser- 
mon the sentiment, that " God often answers prayer in a 
way we do not expect," introduced the following facts : — a A 
poor African negro was led, while in his own country, by 
the consideration of the works of nature, to a conviction of 
the existence and benevolence of a Supreme Being. Im- 
pressed with this fact, he used daily to pray to this Great 
Being, that by some means or other he might more distinct- 
ly know him. About this time he was taken, with many 
others, and sold for a slave. For a while he hesitated as to 
the view he had taken of God, and thought that if there 
did indeed exist a just and good Being as he had suppos- 
ed, he would not allow fraud and iniquity to prevail against 
innocence and integrity. But after a while this poor slave 
was introduced into a pious family in New England, where 
he was instructed in Christianity, and enabled to rejoice 
in God as his friend. He was now persuaded of the 
fact, that adverse providences are often the means of an- 
swering our prayers, and conducting us to the greatest hap- 
piness. 



264 PSALM LXVIII. 

Ps. lxvi. ver. 16. — Come and hear, all ye that fear 
God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. 

6C While I was in Edinburgh last," says the Rev. Eben- 
ezer Erskine in his diary, March 13. 171 1 ■» " on the Wed- 
nesday after the sacrament, Jean Rauvit came to see me in 
my chamber ; and she and I entered on spiritual discourse. 
She told me that she had been made to have a very savoury 
remembrance of me several times, about this occasion of the 
sacrament, both before and after it. She told me what ex- 
pressious of the Lord's love she has had, and what near- 
ness she had been admitted to, at this sacrament. O what 
wonders of free grace and love has the Lord displayed to- 
wards her ! She is a person of more nearness to God, than 
any that I know. How much of his image is discernible 
in her ! What gravity and solidity ! Something of Christ 
in almost every word she speaks, and a sweet savour of 
heaven." 

Ps. lxvii. ver. 5, 6. — Let the people praise thee, O 
God ; let all the people praise thee. — Then shall the 
earth yield her increase ; and God, even our own God, 
shall bless us. 

It is said that Bishop Porteus, four days previous to his 
death, inquired of one of his friends, how the Bible So- 
ciety was succeeding in some great town, in which it had 
been proposed ; and on being informed that all denomina- 
tions had embraced it with ardour, and that the church had 
taken the lead, a momentary glow of satisfaction flushed 
his pallid cheeks, he raised himself on his chair, as if youth 
had been revived, and exclaimed, " Then you will see glo- 
rious days !" 

Ps. lxvhi. ver. 5. — A Father of the fatherless, and 
a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. 

When the Rev. William Wilson of Perth was on his 
death-bed, his son Gilbert, who was eleven years of age, 
hearing of his distress, hurried home from Abernethy, 
where he was attending school. But his father was gone 
when he arrived at Perth, As he approached the house, 
he observed some persons who had been waiting on his de- 
ceased parent, withdrawing ; and from their appearance, 
could easily perceive what had taken place. He rushed into 









PSALM LXXII. 265 

the room, where he found his mother, and the rest of the 
children, in tears. " Mother," said the interesting youth, 
grasping her hand, (i we have a new claim on God to-day. 
You, my dear mother, have a claim on him for a husband, 
and my sisters, brother, and myself, have a claim on him 
for a father." 

Ps. box. ver. 9. — The zeal of thine house hath 
eaten me up. 

An Indian having heard from a white man, some stric- 
tures on zeal, replied, " I don't know about having too 
much zeal, but I think it is better the pot should boil over, 
than not boil at all." 

Ps. lxx. ver. 5. — I am poor and needy ; make 
haste unto me, O God : thou art my help and my de- 
liverer ; O Lord, make no tarrying. 

When Melancthon was entreated by his friends to lay 
aside the natural anxiety and timidity of his temper, he re- 
plied, " If I had no anxieties, 1 should lose a powerful in- 
centive to prayer ; but when the cares of life impel to devo- 
tion, the best means of consolation, a religious mind cannot 
do without them. Thus, trouble compels me to prayer, 
and prayer drives away trouble." 

Ps. lxxi. ver. 18. — Now also, when I am old and 
gray-headed, O God, forsake me not. 

Martin Bucer was visited in his last sickness by several 
learned men, and among others, by Mr John Bradford, 
who, on taking leave of him to go to preach, told him he 
would remember him in his prayers ; on which Bucer, with 
tears in his eyes, said, " Cast me not off, O Lord, now in 
my old age, when my strength failethme." Soon after, he 
said, " He hath afflicted me sore ; but he will never, never 
cast me off." Being desired to arm himself with faith, and 
a stedfast hope in God's mercies against the temptations of 
Satan, he said, " I am wholly Christ's, and the devil has 
nothing to do with me ; and God forbid that I should not 
now have experience of the sweet consolation in Christ." 

Ps. lxxii. ver. 18, 19. — Blessed be the Lord God, 
the God of Israel, who alone doeth wondrous things 
■ — and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. 



266 PSALM LXXIV. 

At a late public meeting, Dr P related the following 

anecdote of a lady of distinction, of deep piety and zeal 
for the cause of (rod, in whom Ci the ruling passion" was 
remarkably strong in death. She was just sinking into the 
arms of death, when he thought he would repeat aloud the 
account of the success in the South Sea Islands. The dy- 
ing saint had for some time ceased to speak or to move ; 
she was not, however, insensible ; for, on hearing the intel- 
ligence, she was somewhat roused, and distinctly articulated, 
" Now blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only doeth 
wondrous things ; and let the whole earth be filled with his 
glory !" Scarcely had she ceased to utter these words, 
when she commenced singing the Song of Moses and the 
Lamb in heaven. 

Ps. lxxiii. ver. 22. — So foolish, was I. and ignorant ; 
I was as a beast before thee. 

The late Rev. John Brown being asked, when on his 
death-bed, if he remembered of his preaching on this text, 
u So foolish was I, and ignorant ; I was as a beast before 
thee," he replied, "Yes, I remember it very well ; and I 
remember, too, that when I described the beast, I drew the 
picture from my own heart. But O, amazing considera- 
tion ! c Nevertheless I am continually with thee ; thou 
hast holden me by my right hand.' " 

Ps. lxxiv. ver. 20. — Have respect imto the cove- 
nant : for the dark places of the earth are full of the 
habitations of cruelty. 

When Messrs. Tyerinan and Bennett visited Matavai, 
one of the South Sea Islands, 3Ir Nott, one of the mission- 
aries there, assured them, that three-fourths of the children 
were wont to be murdered as soon as they were born, by 
one or other of the unnatural parents, or by some person 
employed for that purpose — wretches being found who 
might be called infant-assassins by trade. He mentioned 
having met a woman, soon after the abolition of the diabo- 
lical practice, to whom he said, " How many children have 
you ? cc This one in my arms," was her answer. u And 
how many did you kill ?" She replied, " Eight /" An- 
other woman, to whom the same questious were put, con- 
fessed that she had destroyed seventeen I Nor were these 
solitary cases. Sin was so effectually doing its own work 



PSALM LXXVII. 267 

in these dark places of the earth, that, full as they were of 
the habitations of cruelty and wickedness, war, profligacy, 
and murder, were literally exterminating a people unworthy 
to live ; and soon would the cities have been wasted with- 
out inhabitants, the houses without a man, and the land 
been utterly desolate. But the gospel stepped in, and the 
plague was stayed. Now the mothers nurse their infants 
with the tenderest affection. 

Ps. lxxv. ver. 4. — I said unto the fools, Deal not 
foolishly ; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn. 

A minister of the gospel having made several attempts to 
reform a profligate, was at length repulsed with, « 4 It is all 
in vain, doctor, you cannot get me to change my religion." 
" I do not want that," replied the good man ; M I wish re- 
ligion to change you ?" 

Ps. lxxvi. ver. 7. — Thou, even thou, art to be fear- 
ed, and who may stand in thy sight when once thou 
art angry ? 

When Rabbi Jochanan Ben Zachai was sick, his disci- 
ples came to visit him ; and when he saw them, he began 
to weep. They said to him, " Rabbi, the light of Israel, 
the right hand pillar, the strong hammer, wherefore dost 
thou weep ?" He answered, u If they were carrying me 
before a king of flesh and blood, who is here to-day, and 
to-morrow in the grave, who, if he were angry with me, his 
anger would not last for ever ; if he put me in prison, his 
prison would not be everlasting ; if he condemned me to 
death, that death would not be eternal ; whom I could 
soothe with words, or bribe with riches ; yet even in such 
circumstances I should weep. But now I am going before 
the King of kings, the holy and blessed God, who liveth 
and endureth, who, if he be angry with me, his anger will 
last for ever ; if he put me in prison, his bondage will be 
everlasting ; if he condemn me to death, that death will be 
eternal ; whom I cannot soothe with words, nor bribe with 
riches ; when farther, there are before me two ways, the one 
to hell, and the other lo paradise, and I know not into which 
they are carrying me, shall I not weep ?" 

Ps. lxxvi i. ver. 2. — My soul refused to be com- 
forted. 



268 PSALM LXXIX. 

Mr Baxter, giving an account of Mr James Nalton, a 
holy minister, but subject to occasional depression of spirits, 
says, " Less than a year before his death, he fell into a 
grievous fit of melancholy, in which he was so confident of 
his gracelessness, that he usually cried out, ( O, not one 
spark of grace, not one good desire or thought ! I can no 
more pray than a post. If an angel from heaven would 
tell me that I have true grace, I would not believe him.' 
And yet at that time did he pray very well ; and I could 
demonstrate his sincerity so much to him in his desires and 
life, that he had not a word to say against it, but yet was 
harping still on the same string, and would hardly be per- 
suaded that he was melancholy. It pleased God to recover 
him from this fit, and shortly after he confessed *hat what 
I said was true, that his despair was all the effect of melan- 
choly, and rejoiced much in God's deliverance." 

Ps. lxxviii. ver. 4. — We will not hide them from 
their children, shewing to the generation to come the 
praises of the Lord. 

" It had been my manneT for a long time," says Mr Bos- 
ton in his Memoirs, " besides the catechising of the parish 
every year, to have days of catechising for those of the 
younger sort, and they met in the kirk once a-fortnight, 
sometimes once a-week, sometimes in my house. I learnt 
it from Mr Charles Gordon, a grave learned man, minister 
of Ashkirk. By this course I got several young people of 
both sexes trained up to a good measure of knowledge ; 
some of them to this day are solid and knowing Christians ; 
and the whole youth of the parish, who were disposed, and 
had access to wait on, came together, and as occasion re- 
quired : sometimes these meetings were closed with a warm 
exhortation to practical religion." 

Ps. lxxix. ver. 10. — Wherefore should the heathen 
say, Where is their God ? 

Mr Thomas Worts was ejected, in 1662, from the church 
of Burningham, Norfolk, and was afterwards pastor of a 
congregation at Guestwick, in the same county. He was 
brought from Burningham into Norwich, with a sort of 
biutal triumph, his legs being chained under the horse's 
belly. As he was conducted to the castle, a woman look- 
ing out of a chamber-window, near the gate through which 



PSALM LXXXI. 269 

he was brought in, called out in contempt and derision, 
" Worts, where's now your God ?" The good confessor 
in bonds desired her to turn to Micah vii. 10. She did so, 
and was so struck with the passage, that she was a kind 
friend to him in his long confinement. 

Ps. lxxx. ver. 10. — The boughs thereof were like 
the goodly cedars. 

.Maundrell, in giving a description of the cedars of Le- 
banon, says, " I measured one of the largest, and found it 
twelve yards six inches in girth, and yet sound, and thirty- 
seven yards in the spread of its boughs. At about five or 
six yards from the ground, it was divided into five limbs, 
each of which was equal to a great tree." 

Ps. lxxxi. ver. 11, 12. — My people would not 
hearken to my voice ; and Israel would none of me. 
— So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust ; 
and they walked in their own counsels. 

A gentleman called his sons around his dying bed, and 
gave them the following relation : — " When I was a youth, 
the Spirit strove with me, and seemed to say, ( Seek reli- 
gion now ; but Satan suggested the necessity of waiting till 
I grew up, because it was incompatible with youthful 
amusement ; so I resolved I would wait till I grew up to 
be a man. I did so, and was then reminded of my pro- 
mise to seek religion ; but Satan again advised me to wait 
till middle age, for business and a young family demanded 
all my attention. Yes, I said, I will do so ; I will wait till 
middle age. I did so ; my serious impressions left me for 
some years. They were again renewed, conscience re- 
minded me of my promises ; the Spirit said, c Seek religion 
now ;' but then I had less time than ever ; Satan advised 
my waiting till I was old ; then my children would be 
settled in business, and I should have nothing else to do ; 
I could then give an undivided attention to it. I listened 
to his suggestion, and the Spirit ceased to strive with me. 
I have lived to be old, but now I have no desire as formerly 
to attend to the concerns of my soul ; my heart is hardened. 
I have resisted and. quenched the Spirit, now there is no hope ; 
already I feel a hell within, the beginning of an eternal 
misery. I feel the gnawings of that worm that never dies. 
Take warning from my miserable end ; seek religion now ; 
z 2 



270 PSALM LXXXIII. 

let nothing tempt you to put off this important concern." 
Then in the greatest agonies he expired. It is dreadful to 
trifle with the Spirit of God ! 

Ps. lxxxii. ver. 3. 4. — Defend the poor and father- 
less : do justice to the afflicted and needy. — Deliver 
the poor and needy : rid them out of the hand of the 
wicked. 

There lived in the city of Zurich, a person who, though 
an unworthy character, was a member of its Senate. Dur- 
ing the time he was Prefect over a district of the Canton, 
he had committed innumerable acts of the grossest injus- 
tice, — yea, such flagrant crimes, that all the country people 
reproached and cursed him ; but no one dared to prosecute 
him, as he was related to several members of the Zurich 
Government, and son-in-law to the chief magistrate of the 
city. Mr Lavater, the celebrated physiognomist, having 
often heard of the atrocities of the Prefect, committed 
against even helpless widows and orphans, and having duly 
examined into them, felt an irresistible desire to plead the 
cause of the poor and oppressed. He was aware that his 
supporting this cause would expose him to the frowns of 
the great and the mighty, and occasion much anxiety to 
his friends ; but conceiving it to be his duty, he determined 
to proceed. Having prepared himself by earnest prayer, 
and consulted an intimate friend, he addressed a letter to 
the Prefect, in which he strongly reproached him for his 
detestable actions, and plainly signified his intention to 
bring him to public justice, should he not restore his spoils 
within two months. The time having elapsed, and no 
restoration having been made, Mr Lavater proceeded to 
print a solemn indictment against him, which he caused to 
be delivered to every member of the Zurich Government. 
At first he concealed his name ; but when called upon, he 
came forward in the most open manner, nobly avowed and 
fully proved the points of his indictment before the whole 
Senate, had the satisfaction to see the wicked Prefect (who, 
conscious of his guilt, had saved himself by flight) solemnly 
condemned by law, his unjust property confiscated, and 
restoration made to oppressed poverty and innocence. 

Ps. lxxxiii. ver. 15. — Persecute them with thy 
tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. 



PSALM LXXXV. 271 

When the celebrated Mr Blair, of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, was deposed by Bishop Bramble of Derry, in Ireland,, 
he cited the bishop to appear before the tribunal of Christ, 
to answer for that wicked action, " I appeal," said the 
bishop, " from the justice of God to his mercy, " — a Your 
appeal," replied Mr Blair, "is likely to be rejected; be- 
cause, in prohibiting us the exercise of our ministry, you 
act against the light of your own conscience*" The bishop 
was shortly after smitten with sickness, and when Dr Max- 
well, his physician, inquired at him what was his particular 
complaint, after a long silence, he replied, u It is my con- 
science !" — "I have," rejoined the doctor, "no cure for 
that." This confession the friends of the bishop endea- 
voured to suppress ; but the Countess of Andes, who had 
it from the doctor's mouth, and who was worthy of credit,, 
used to say, " No man shall suppress that report ; for I 
shall bear witness of it to the glory of God, who smote him 
for persecuting Christ's faithful servants." 

Ps. lxxxiv. ver. 10. — A day in thy courts is better 
than a thousand : I had rather be a door-keeper in 
the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of 
wickedness. 

A man who lived in a house by himself, had always been 
in the practice of going regularly to public worship, but 
some years previous, for a considerable time, he had found 
so little comfort in hearing the gospel, that more than once 
he had debated with himself if it would not be as well to 
remain at home on the Lord's day. One Saturday night he 
made up his mind that he would not attend sermon next 
day, and went to rest with this resolution on his mind. 
What was his surprise, when he awoke from his sleep, to 
find that the Sabbath was nearly gone. " When I awoke," 
said he, " it was the evening of the Sabbath. I was struck 
with the reproof. I had basely resolved that I should not 
worship God in his house on his own day, and he did not 
allow me to awake to spend it in any other manner. The 
reproof was of use to me ; since that time I have never 
trifled with my duty of seeking God in his sanctuary, and 
I hope I have done it often since that time with much com- 
fort." 

Ps. lxxxv. ver. 8. — He will speak peace unto his 



2?2 PSALM LXXXVII. 

people, and to his saints ; but let them not turn again 
to folly. 

An eminent servant of Christ, being suddenly introduced 
into a large and respectable assembly, was requested to de- 
liver an extemporary address on ■" The Peace of God." To 
this request he replied, in terms of the deepest humiliation, 
that it was impossible for him, at present, to speak on that 
subject, as he had unhappily deprived himself of that in- 
valuable blessing by his unfaithfulness to God. He then 
sat down, silently humbling himself before the Lord, This 
frank confession became the means, it is said, of the con-, 
version of one of the company. 

Ps. Ixxxvi. ver. 7. — In the day of my trouble I 
will call upon thee : for thou wilt answer me. 

It is well known that many of the good men who were 
driven from this country to America, by persecution, in the 
seventeenth century, had to endure great privations. In the 
month of June 1623, their hopes of a harvest were nearly 
blasted by drought, which withered up their corn, and made 
the grass look like hay. All expected to perish with hun- 
ger. In their distress they set apart a day for humiliation 
and prayer, and continued their worship for eight or nine 
hours. God heard their prayers, and answered them in a 
way which excited universal admiration. Although the 
morning of that day was clear, and the weather very hot and 
dry during the whole forenoon, yet before night it began to 
rain, and gentle showers continued to fall for many days, 
so that the ground became thoroughly soaked, and the 
drooping corn revived. 

Ps. lxxxvii. ver. 3. — Glorious things are spoken of 
thee, O city of God. 

Fulgentius, being at Rome, and observing the glory of 
the Roman nobility, the triumphant pomp of King Theo- 
doric, and the universal splendour and gaiety of that city, 
was so far from being impressed in favour of what he saw, 
that raising up his thoughts to heavenly joys, he said to 
some of his friends that accompanied him, Ct How beautiful 
must the celestial Jerusalem be, since terrestrial Rome is 
so glittering ! If such honour be given to lovers of vanity, 



PSALM xcr. 275 

what glory shall be imparted to the saints, who are lovers 
and followers of truth !" 

Ps. lxxxviii. ver. 3. — My soul is full of troubles, 
and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. 

Mr Johnson gives the following account of one of the 
school girls, about fifteen years of age, at Regent's Town, 
Sierra Leone : — u She always complained of the depravity 
of her heart. I was called up this morning about one 
o'clock, by the woman who attends the sick in the Female 
Hospital. I found this poor girl in great distress of mind. 
She cried aloud, 4 Massa, what shall I do ? what shall I do ? 
I am going to die now, and my sins be too much. I thief — 
I lie — I curse — I do bad too much — I bad past all people, 
and now me must die ! — What shall I do ?' I spoke to her 
on the ability and willingness of Jesus to save her. She 
said that she had prayed to Jesus to pardon her sins, but 
did not know whether he had heard her prayers. After I 
had spoken to her for some time, she became calm, and ap- 
peared to be in earnest prayer. I saw her again after family 
prayer. She appeared quite composed, and spoke a few 
words with great difficulty, to express her peace of mind. 
I visited her once more ; and, on asking her how she did, 
she said with great difficulty, ( I pray £ and soon after- 
wards departed." 

Ps. lxxxix. ver. 48. — What man is he that liveth, 
and shall not see death ? shall he deliver his soul 
from the hand of the grave ? 

Mr Philip Henry, at the monthly lectures at his own 
house, preached upon the four last things, death, judgment, 
heaven, and hell, in many particulars, but commonly with 
a new text for every sermon. When he had, in many ser- 
mons, finished the first of the four, a person who used to 
hear him sometimes, inquiring of his progress in his sub- 
jects, asked him if he had done with death, meauing that 
subject concerning death ; to which he pleasantly replied — 
" No, I have not done with him yet. 1 must have another 
turn with him, and he will give me a fall ; but I hope to 
have the victory at last." 

Ps. xc. ver. 9. — We spend our years as a tale that 
is told. 



274 PSALM XCII. 

A minister in Scotland, preaching a sermon to his con- 
gregation on the last Sabbath of the year 1793, on contrast- 
ing the shortness of life with eternity, and having men- 
tioned the preceding passage of Scripture, fell back, and 
immediately expired. 

Ps. xci. ver. 3. — Surely lie shall deliver thee from 
the noisome pestilence. 

Lord Craven lived in London when that sad calamity, 
the plague, raged. His house was in that part of the town 
since called Craven Buildings. On the plague growing 
epidemic, his Lordship, to avoid the danger, resolved to go 
to his seat in the country. His coach and six were accord- 
ingly at the door, his baggage put up, and all things in 
readiness for the journey. As he was walking through his 
hall, with his hat on, his cane under his arm, and putting on 
his gloves, in order to step into his carriage, he overheard 
his negro, who served him as postilion, saying to another 
servant, " I suppose, by my Lord's quitting London to 
avoid the plague, that his God lives in the country, and not 
in town." The poor negro said this in the simplicity of 
his heart, as really believing a plurality cf Gods. The 
speech, however, struck Lord Craven very sensibly, and 
made him pause. " My God," thought he, "lives every- 
where, and can preserve me in town as well as in the 
country. I will even stay where I am. The ignorance of 
that negro has just now preached to me a very useful ser- 
mon. Lord, pardon this unbelief, and that distrust of thy 
providence, which made me think of running from thy 
hand." He immediately ordered his horses to be taken 
off from the coach, and the baggage to be taken in. He 
continued at London, was remarkably useful among his 
sick neighbours, and never caught the infection. 

Ps. xeii. ver. 1, 2. — It is a good thing to give 
thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy 
name, O most High : — To shew forth thy loving- 
kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every 
night. 

et About twelve years ago," writes one, in a letter to a 
minister, " I had occasion to pass a toil-bar in the west of 
Fife, and happened to enter into conversation with the tell- 



PSALM XCIII. 275 

keeper, whom I found a very intelligent, and apparently a 
truly pious old man. In the course of our conversation, 
the great decline even in the outward forms of religion 
was mentioned ; and as a striking proof of this, the toll- 
keeper remarked — ' When I was a young man, about fifty 
years ago, I left Aberdeen, and came to work as a journey- 
man flax-dresser in a respectable town in the county of 
Fife ; and for the two first weeks or so after I arrived, 
curiosity led me out every morning at the breakfast hour to 
see the town, and at this time every door was shut, and the 
inmates engaged at family worship, except two doors which 
I never observed to be shut ; but these families perhaps 
might have some reasonable excuse for not being employed 
like their neighbours. The two doors I remember n :o»t 
distinctly at this day, and could point them out. And be- 
fore I left the town, about a year ago, it was nearly as rare 
to see a shut door for the purpose of family worship, as it 
was at the former period to see an open one !' " What 
matter of deep regret, when so becoming and important an 
exercise is abandoned ! 

Ps. xciii. ver. 5. — Thy testimonies are very sure : 
holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever. 

The late Rev. Claudius Buchanan, shortly after he had 
visited the principal parts of Europe, was met on the streets 
of London by an old Highlander of Scotland, who was an 
intimate acquaintance of his father. In order to have a 
little conversation, they went into a public-house, and took 
some refreshment — Young Claudius gave his countryman 
a very animated description of his tour, and of the wonders 
he had seen upon the Continent. The old man listened 
with attention to his narrative, and then eagerly inquired 
whether his religious principles had not been materially in- 
jured by mixing among such a variety of characters and 
religions. " Do you know what an infidel is ?" said 
Buchanan. " Yes," was the reply. " Then," said he, " I 
am an infidel ; and have seen the absurdity of all those nos- 
trums my good old father used to teach me in the north ; 
and can you" added he, " seriously believe that the Bible is 
a revelation from the Supreme Being ?" — " I do." — " And 
pray tell me what may be your reasons ?" — " Claude," said 
the good old Highlander, " I know nothing about what 
learned men call the external evidences of revelation, but I 



276 TSALM XCVI. 

will tell you why I believe it to be from God. I have a 
most depraved and sinful nature, and, do what I will, I find 
I cannot make myself holy. My friends cannot do it for 
me, nor do I think all the angels in heaven could. One 
thing alone does it, — the reading and believing what I read 
in that blessed book — that does it. Now, as I know that 
God must be holy, and a lover of holiness, and as I believe 
that book is the only thing in creation that produces and 
promotes holiness, I conclude that it is from God, and 
that he is the Author of it." 

Ps. xciv. ver. 23. — He shall cut them off in their 
own wickedness. 

The following is an extract of a letter from a minister 
in a small sea-port town in Scotland : — " I have just now 

heard of a dreadful scene. One , for many years 

master of a coasting vessel, an inhabitant of this place, had, 
in his younger days, made a distinguished profession of re- 
ligion ; and, among the small but respectable body to which 
he belonged, he was deemed an eminent Christian. Many 
years ago, this man became a Deist, — nay, an avowed 
Atheist, and made the Being of Deity and a future state 
the subjects of his ridicule and profane mockery. For 
horrid swearing and lewdness he had perhaps few equals in 
Scotland. Last night, in a public-house, when in a rage of 
swearing, he dropt into eternity in a moment, by the rup- 
ture of a blood-vessel. How awful, to be hurried before 
the tribunal of God in the very act of blasphemy !" 

Ps. xcv. ver. 7, 3. — To-day, if ye will hear his 
voice, — Harden not your heart. 

Rabbi Eliezer said, " Turn to God one day before your 
death." His disciples said, " How can a man know the 
day of his death ?" He answered them, " Therefore you 
should turn to God to-day. Perhaps you may die to- 
morrow ; thus, every day will be employed in returning." 

Ps. xcvi. ver. 10. — Say among the heathen that 
the Lord reigneth : the world also shall he establish- 
ed, that it shall not be moved : he shall judge the 
people righteously. 

At a public festival at Raiatea, a South Sea island, some 
of the chiefs and others addressed the company, in brief 



PSALM XCVII1. 277 

and spirited appeals to their memory, of the abominations of 
past times, and to their gratitude for the glorious and blessed 
changes which the gospel of Christ had wrought among 
them. They compared their present manner of feasting, 
their improved dress, their purer enjoyments, their more 
courteous behaviour, the cleanliness of their persons, and 
the delicacy of their language in conversation, with their 
former gluttony, nakedness, riot, brutality, filthy customs, 
and obscene talk. One of the speakers observed, " At such 
a feast as this, a few years ago, none but kings, or great 
chiefs, or strong men, could have got any thing good to eat ; 
the poor, and the feeble, and the lame, would have been 
trampled under foot, and many of them killed in the quar- 
rels and battles that followed the gormandizing and drun- 
kenness." — " This," said another, " is the reign of Jehovah 
—that was the reign of Satan. Our kings might kill us 
for their pleasure, and offer our carcases to the Evil Spirit ; 
our priests and our rulers delighted in shedding our blood. 
Now, behold, our persons are safe, our property is our own, 
and we have no need to fly to the mountains to hide our- 
selves, as we used to do, when a sacrifice was wanted for 
Oro, and durst not come back to our homes till we heard 
that a victim had been slain and carried to the marae." 

Ps. xcvii. ver. 1. — The Lord reigneth ; let the 
earth rejoice ; let the multitude of isles be glad 
thereof. 

During a certain juncture at the beginning of the present 
century, when a French invasion was generally dreaded, 
Mrs Scott, a pious gentlewoman, happened to be in com- 
pany with a number of ladies, who began, with a sorrowful 
countenance, to express themselves in a tone of most dis- 
tressing apprehension regarding the consequences of that 
deprecated event ; but after listening for a little to their 
melancholy language, she proceeded to reprove their im- 
moderate solicitude and timidity, saying, " Come, my ladies, 
lay aside your unbelieying fears, remember that the Lord 
reigns." 

Ps. xcviii. ver. 8, 9. — Let the floods clap their 
hands : let the hills be joyful together before the 
Lord : for he comcth to judge the earth : with 
2 A 



278 PSALM c. 

righteousness shall he judge the world, and the 
people with equity. 

" There is an account come," says Ebenezer Erskine in 
his diary, " of the arrival of King George, and a great re- 
joicing for it in Edinburgh. I see the fires and illumina- 
tions of that city reflected on the skies. O how will the 
heavens reflect and shine with illuminations, when the King 
of kings, and Lord of lords, shall erect his tribunal in the 
clouds, and come in his own glory, and his Father's glory, 
and in the glory of the holy angels ! O what a heartsome 
day will that be ! When Christ, who is our life, shall ap- 
pear, then shall we appear with him in glory. We shall 
then lift up our heads with joy, because it shall be a time 
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord." 

Ps. xcix. ver. 3. — Let them praise thy great and 
terrible name ; for it is holy. 

A certain American planter had a favourite domestic 
negro, who always stood opposite to him when waiting at 
the table. His master being a profane character, often took 
the name of God in vain, when the negro immediately made 
a low and solemn bow. On being asked why he did so, 
he replied, that he never heard that great name mentioned, 
but it filled his whole soul with reverence and awe. Thus, 
without offence, he cured his master of a criminal and per- 
nicious custom. 

Ps. c. ver. 4. — Enter into his gates with thanks- 
giving ; and into his courts with praise : he thankful 
unto him, and bless his name. 

" There is a tradition," says Dr Franklin, " that in the 
planting of New England, the first settlers met with many 
difficulties and hardships, as is generally the case when a 
civilized people attempt establishing themselves in a wilder- 
ness country. Being men of piety, they sought relief from 
heaven by laying their wants and distresses before the Lord 
on frequent set clays of fasting and prayer. Constant medi- 
tation and discourse on their difficulties, kept their minds 
gloomy and discontented; and like the children of Israel, 
there were many disposed to return to Egypt, which 
persecution had induced them to abandon. At length, 
when it was proposed in one of their assemblies to proclaim 



PSALM CII. 279 

a fast, a farmer of plain sense rose and remarked, that the 
inconveniencies they suffered, and concerning which they 
had so often wearied Heaven with their complaints, were 
not so great as might have been expected, and were dimi- 
nishing every day as the colony strengthened ; that the 
earth began to reward their toil, and to furnish liberally for 
their subsistence ; that the seas and rivers were full of fish, 
the air sweet, the climate healthy ; and above all, that they 
were in the full enjoyment of their civil and religious 
liberty : he therefore thought, that reflecting and convers- 
ing on these subjects would be more comfortable, as tend- 
ing more to make them contented with their situation ; and 
that it would be more becoming the gratitude they owed the 
Divine Being, if, instead of a Fast, they should appoint a 
Thanksgiving. His advice was taken, and from that day to 
this, they have, in every year, observed circumstances of 
public felicity sufficient to furnish cause for a Thanksgiving- 
day ; which is therefore constantly ordered, and religiously 
observed." 

Ps. ci. ver. 6. — Mine eyes shall be upon the faith- 
ful of the land, that they may dwell with me. 

A truly pious man, of rank and influence in society, was 
in the habit of entertaining and admitting to a degree of 
intimacy, persons of very humble circumstances in life, if 
they only gave evidence of true religion. A friend of his, 
who was accustomed to measure every thing according to 
the standard of this world, rallied him on the subject of 
his associates ; intimating his surprise that he should admit 
to his hospitality and friendship persons of so obscure an 
origin, and of so little estimation among men. He replied, 
in a tone of unaffected humility, that as he could scarcely 
hope to enjoy so elevated a rank as they in the future 
world, he knew not why he should despise them in the 
present. The reproof came home to the feelings of the 
proud man, and he was silent ; conscience whispering, 
meanwhile, how dim were his prospects of rising, in the 
future world, to an equality with the pious poor, if his 
christian friend was in danger of falling below them. 

Ps. cii. ver. 11. — My days are like a shadow that 
declineth ; and I am withered like grass. 

The following inscription, in the choir of St Saviour's 



280 PSALM CIV. 

church, Southwark, is on a tablet at the base of the monu- 
ment of Richard Humble, Gentleman, who was an Alder- 
man of London in the reign of James I. : — 

" Like to the damask rose you see, 
Or like the blossom on the tree, 
Or like the dainty flower of May, 
Or like the morning of the day, 
Or like the sun, or like the shade, 
Or like the gourd which Jonas had : 
E'en so is man, whose thread is spun, 
Drawn out, and cut, and so is done ! 
The rose withers, the blossom blasteth, 
The flower fades, the morning hasteth, 
The sun sets, the shadow flies, 
The gourd consumes, the man he dies !" 

Ps. ciii. ver. 3. — Who satisfieth thy mouth with 
good things. 

Mr Newton once speaking in reference to the preceding 
passage, said, u Bring a man to see the best covered table 
in the world, looking at it might gratify his eyes, but 
would never satisfy his mouth. We must taste before we 
can see that God is good." 

Ps. civ. ver. 20, 21. — Thou makest darkness, and 
it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep 
forth. — The young lions roar after their prey. 

Sir John Gayer, a wealthy citizen of London, and a 
merchant of the first eminence, in the reigns of King James 
and Charles I., was at one time travelling with a caravan 
of merchants across the deserts of Arabia, when, by some 
strange mistake, he separated from his companions, and 
night overtook him before he became sensible of his danger. 
He in vain endeavoured to gain the caravan ; and he was 
brought into all the horrors of darkness, in the midst of a 
dreary desert. No place of refuge was near, and he seemed 
the destined prey of the savage animals which he heard 
roaring for food a short distance from him. In this awful 
situation, he resigned himself, like a true Christian, to the 
disposal of his God. Falling on his knees, he prayed fer- 
vently, and promised, that if heaven would rescue him from 
impending danger, the whole produce of his merchandize 
should be given as an offering in benefaction to his native 
country. At this moment a lion of tremendous size was 
approaching him. Death appeared inevitable ; but whether 
it was owing to the prayers of the pious knight, or to the 



PSALM CYI. 281 

generous nature of the noble animal, the fact was, that the 
lion, after prowling round him, bristling his shaggy hair, 
and eyeing him, apparently with fierce intent, suddenly 
stopped short, turned round and walked quietly away, with- 
out offering him the slightest injury. The knight continued 
in the same suppliant posture till the morning dawned^ 
when he pursued his journey, and happily came up with 
his friends, who had considered him as lost. The remain- 
der of his voyage was prosperous ; he disposed of his freight 
to advantage, and reached England with increased wealth. 
In fulfilment of his engagement, he distributed to different 
charities considerable sums, but particularly to the poor of 
his own parish ; and among other donations, he bequeathed 
two hundred pounds to the church of St Catharine Cree, 
to be laid out in the purchase of an estate, the profits of 
which were also to be applied to the poor, on condition 
that a sermon should be occasionally preached in that 
church, to commemorate his deliverance from the jaws of 
the lion. 

Ps. cv. ver. 15. — Touch not mine anointed, and do 
my prophets no harm. 

The Rev. James Garie, with some other ministers, at- 
tempted, in 1790, amidst much opposition, to disseminate 
the gospel in some of the darkest parts of Ireland. One 
evening a man entered his room with a pistol, threateniDg 
to take away his life. Mr Garie, holding up a small 
Bible, advanced towards him, and with a smiling counte- 
nance, looked him full in the face. Struck with his mild 
and innocent appearance, the man immediately retired from 
him, and his life was preserved. 

Ps. cvi. ver. 15. — He gave them their request ; 
but sent leanness into their soul. 

A lady in the south of England, had a little boy who 
was very ill. On being told there was no hope of his re- 
covery, she became almost frantic, and opened her mouth, 
not in prayer to God for her own submission and her child's 
salvation, but in positive declaration that her child should 
not be taken from her. " O God, thou shalt not take my 
child — he shall not die," was her prayer. The prayer was 
answered. The child did not die. He recovered; and 
his mother lived to see him taken to the gallows ! 
2 a2 



282 PSALM CVIII. 

Ps. cvii. ver. 24. — These see the works of the Lord, 
and his wonders in the deep. 

In the early part of the career of the Rev. John Wesley, 
influenced by a desire to do good, he undertook a voyage 
to Georgia. During a storm on the voyage he was very 
much alarmed by the fear of death, and being a severe 
judge of himself, he concluded that he was unfit to die. He 
observed the lively faith of the Moravians, which, in the 
midst of danger, kept their minds in a state of tranquillity 
and ease, to which he and the English on board were 
strangers. While they were singing at the commencement 
of their service, the sea broke over them, split the mainsail 
in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the 
decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed them up. 
The English screamed terribly — the Moravians calmly sung 
on. Mr Wesley asked one of them afterwards, if he were 
not afraid. He answered, " I thank God, no." " But, 
were not your women and children afraid ?" He replied, 
mildly, " No : our women and children are not afraid to 
die." These things struck him forcibly, and strengthened 
his desire to know more of these excellent people. 

Ps. cviii. ver. 4. — Thy mercy is great above the 
heavens. 

To a person under distress of mind, Mr Hervey says in a 
letter, " Don't select such terrifying texts for your medita- 
tion, as in your letter you tell me you have done. It is as 
improper as if you should eat the coldest melon, or use the 
most slight covering, when shivering with an ague. Choose, 
the morning after you receive this letter, (by way of antidote 
to the texts of your own selecting,) the following for your 
meditation : — c His mercy is great above the heavens.' e His 
mercy endureth for ever.' Put together these two expres- 
sions, and see whether they don't amount to more than 
either your imprudencies or your distress. You have, to be 

sure, done amiss in the matter of . God forbid I 

should justify your conduct ! but let it not be said, let it 
not be surmised, it is beyond the reach of God's immeasur- 
able goodness to pardon, or of Christ's immense merits to 
expiate the sin. None can tell, none can think, what mercy 
there is with the Lord. There is a wide difference between 
humiliation and despair ; draw near to Christ with a hum- 
ble boldness." 



PSALM CXI. 283 

Ps. cix. ver. 4. — For my love they are my adver- 
saries : but I give myself unto prayer. 

Mr Burkitt, in his diary, relates his having met at one time 
with a very unjust and unexpected accusation from a person 
whom he had faithfully served, and sought to oblige. " The 
consciousness of my own innocence, 1 ' he adds, u supported 
me, and I hope God will do me good by all. Some per- 
sons had- never had a particular share in my prayers but for 
the injuries they have done me." 

Ps. ex. ver. 3. — Thy people shall he willing in the 
day of thy power. 

A deist, whose infidelity was shaken by the conversation 
of his little daughter, who attended a Sabbath school, was 
induced to attend the preaching of the gospel. The Holy 
Spirit accompanied it with his blessing. On the follow- 
ing November 5th, he convened his family together, and 
having made a bon-fire of his infidel books, they all joined 
in singing that hymn, — " Come let us join our cheerful 
songs," &c 

Ps. cxi. ver. 5. — He hath given meat unto them 
that fear him : he will ever be mindful of his cove- 
nant. 

Mr M , a pious and zealous curate in Yorkshire, 

was in circumstances of pecuniary distress ; but at the 
same time, he had frequent experience of the Lord's good- 
ness to his family in their straits. Once, when in great 
want of the necessaries of life, a five- guinea note was sent 
them by the carrier ; but from whom, they never could 
learn. On another occasion, their stock, both of coals and 
money, was exhausted. Having no prospect of a supply, 
they retired to rest that evening — " Cast down, but not in 
despair." In the morning, after praying with, his wife, Mr 

M took a walk out on the highway, still continuing 

the devout exercise of prayer, when he was met by the post. 
Without being able to assign a reason why, he felt an im- 
pression which led him to ask, " Have you a letter for me ?" 
To which the person replied in the affirmative. Upon re- 
ceiving the letter, he immediately opened it, and found it 
to be an anonymous epistle, with five pounds enclosed. 
Soon after this, a friend brought a cow for their service ; 



284 PSALM CXIV. 

and towards evening, another friend sent them a cart-load of 
coals. Thus, without making known their case to any one, 
except the Lord God of Elijah, they received in one day a 
seasonable supply of money, milk, and coals. 

Ps. cxii. ver. 9. — He hath dispersed : he hath given 
to the poor ; Ills righteousness endureth for ever ; his 
horn shall be exalted with honour. 

Tiberius II. was so liberal to the poor, that his wife 
blamed him for it. Speaking to him once of his wasting 
his treasure by this means, he told her, " He should never 
want money so long as, in obedience to Christ's command, 
he supplied the necessities of the poor." Shortly after this, 
he found a great treasure under a marble table which had 
been taken up ; and news was also brought him of the death 
of a very rich man, who had left his whole estate to him. 

Ps. cxiii. ver. 7, 8. — He raiseth up the poor out 
of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dung- 
hill ; that he may set him with princes, even with 
the princes of his people. 

Mr Brown of Haddington, during his last illness, hav- 
ing One day come in from his ride, was scarcely set down, 
when he began expressing his admiration of the love of 
God : " O ! the sovereignty of grace ! How strange that 
I, a poor cottager's son, should have a chaise to ride in ; 
and what is far more wonderful, I think God hath often 
given me rides in the chariot of the new covenant : in the 
former case, he hath raised me from the dunghill, and set 
me with great men ; but in the latter, he hath exalted the 
man, sinful as a devil, and made him to sit with the Prince 
of the kings of the earth. O, astonishing ! astonishing ! 
astonishing !" 

Ps. cxiv. ver. 3. — Jordan was driven back. 

Chateaubriand, describing the emotions he felt on his 
approach to this celebrated river, says, " I had surveyed the 
great rivers of America with that pleasure which solitude 
and nature impart ; I had visited the Tiber with enthusiasm, 
and sought with the same interest the Eurotas and the 
Cephisus ; but I cannot express what I felt at the sight of 
the Jordan. Not only did this river remind me of a re- 



PSALM CXVI. 285 

nowned antiquity, and one of the most celebrated names 
that the most exquisite poetry ever confided to the memory 
of man ; but its shores likewise presented to my view the 
theatre of the miracles of my religion. Judea is the only 
country in the world that revives in the traveller the memory 
of human affairs and of celestial things, and which, by 
this combination, produces in the soul a feeling and ideas 
which no other religion is capable of exciting.'" 

Ps. cxv. ver. 5. — They have mouths, but they 
speak not ; eyes have they, but they see not, &c. 

Mr Thomas, missionary in India, was one day travelling 
alone through the country, when he saw a great many 
people waiting near a temple of their false gods. He went 
up to them, and, as soon as the doors were opened, he 
walked into the temple. Seeing an idol raised above the 
people, he walked boldly up to it, held up his hand, and 
asked for silence. He then put his fingers on its eyes, and 
said, " It has eyes, but it cannot see ! It has ears, but it 
cannot hear ! It has a nose, but it cannot smell ! It has 
hands, but it cannot handle ! It has a mouth, but it cannot 
speak ! Neither is there any breath in it !" Instead of 
doing injury to him for affronting their god and themselves, 
they were all surprised ; and an old Brahmin w r as so con- 
vinced of his folly by what Mr Thomas said, that he also 
cried out, " It has feet, but it cannot run away !" The peo- 
ple raised a shout, and being ashamed of their stupidity, 
they left the temple, and went to their homes. 

Ps. cxvi. ver. 16. — O Lord, truly I am thy ser- 
vant ; I am thy servant, and the son of thine hand- 
maid. 

" Besides the common mercy of being born in a Chris- 
tian land," says General Burn, " God was pleased to bestow 
upon me another, which is not common to all his children ; 
that of being bom of godly parents, and surrounded on all 
sides by truly pious relations. Infant reason no sooner 
dawned, than they began to use every possible means to 
give that reason a right bias towards its proper object ; 
and they daily approached a throne of grace with fervent 
prayer for their helpless child, before he knew how to pray 
for himself. When a rude unthinking boy at school, I 
have sometimes stood at my pious grandmother's closet 



286 PSALM CXIX. 

door, and how many heart- affecting groans and ardent sup- 
plications have I heard poured forth for me, for which I 
then never imagined there was the smallest occasion ! Yet, 
if the prayers of the righteous avail much, (and surely I 
can confirm the truth of this scripture,) how greatly am I 
indebted to God, who blessed me with such pareuts !" 

Ps. cxvii. yer. 2. — His merciful kindness is great 
towards us. 

One day a female friend called on the late Rev. William 
Evans, a pious minister in England, and asked how he felt 
himself. " I am weakness itself," he replied ; "but I am 
on the Rock. I do not experience those transports which 
some have expressed in the view of death ; but my depen- 
dance is on the mercy of God in Christ. Here my religion 
began, and here it must end" 

Ps. cxviii. ver. 8. — It is better to trust in the 
Lord, than to put confidence in man. 

" Christians might avoid much trouble and inconve- 
nience," says Dr Payson, M if they would only believe what 
they profess — that God is able to make them happy without 
any thing else. They imagine, if such a dear friend were 
to die, or such and such blessings to be removed, they 
should be miserable ; whereas God can make them a thou- 
sand times happier without them. To mention my own 
case, — God has been depriving me of one blessing after 
another ; but as every one was removed, he has come in, 
and filled up its place ; and now when I am a cripple, and 
not able to move, I am happier than ever I was in my life 
before, or ever expected to be ; and if I had believed this 
twenty years ago, I might have been spared much anxiety.'' 

Ps. cxix. ver. 71. — It is good for me that I have 
been afflicted. 

A young man, who had been long confined with a dis- 
eased limb, and was near his dissolution, was attended by a 
friend, who requested that the wound might be uncovered. 
When this was done, * c There," said the young man, ei there 
it is, and a precious treasure it has been to me ; it saved me 
from the folly and vanity of youth; it made me cleave to 
God as my only portion, and to eternal glory as my"only 



PSALM cxix. 287 

hope ; and I think it has now brought me very near to my 
Father's house." 

Ps. cxix. yer. 92. — Unless thy law had been my de- 
lights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. 

A person who subscribed to the Bible Society of Nismes, 
in France, gave the following account of himself to one of 
the office-bearers of the Society : — " Under the late empe- 
ror (Bonaparte) I was attached to the army ; and being 
taken prisoner and carried to England, I was confined in 
one of the prison-ships. There, huddled together one above 
the other, and deprived of every thing that could tend to 
soften the miseries of life, I abandoned myself to dark de- 
spair, and resolved to make away with myself. In this 
state of mind, an English clergyman visited us, and ad- 
dressed us to the following effect : — e My heart bleeds for 
your losses and privations, nor is it in my power to remedy 
them ; but T can offer consolation for your immortal souls ; 
and this consolation is contained in the word of God. Read 
this book, my friends ; for I am willing to present every one 
with a copy of the Bible, who is desirous to possess it.' — 
The tone of kindness with which he spoke, and the candour 
of this pious man, made such an impression upon me, that 
I burst into tears. I gratefully accepted a Bible ; and in 
it I found abundant consolation, amidst all my miseries and 
distresses. From that moment the Bible has become a 
book precious to my soul ; out of it I have gathered mo- 
tives for resignation and courage to bear up in adversity ; 
and I feel happy in the idea that it may prove to others 
what it has been to me." 

Ps. cxix. ver. 136. — Rivers of waters run down 
mine eyes, because they keep not thy law. 

A deaf and dumb boy, thirteen years of age, educated in 
the Institution at Edinburgh, after an absence of four years, 
went home to see his mother. When he entered her house, 
in company with his benefactor, she was sitting in a state 
of intoxication, which greatly affected him. He took his 
pencil, and thus attempted to show her the evil and danger 
of such conduct, and gave her much good advice. After 
retiring with his friend, at whose house he went to lodge, 
his countenance became very sorrowful, and the tears trick- 
led down his cheeks. His friend asked him the occasion 



288 PSALM CXXtt. 

of all this, when he wrote, that he was thinking, if he 
got to heaven, how sorry he should be not to find his mo- 
ther there. 

Ps. cxx. ver. 7. — I am for peace. 

The late John Dickinson, Esq., of Birmingham, was 
often called by way of distinction, iC The Peace-maker ;'* 
and such was his anxiety to keep the bonds of peace from 
being broken — such was his solicitude to heal the breach 
when made, that he would stoop to any act but that of 
meanness — make any sacrifice but that of principle — and 
endure any mode of treatment, not exceptiug even insult 
and reproach. From the high estimate in which his cha- 
racter was held, he was often called upon to act as umpire 
in cases of arbitration, and it was but rarely, if ever, that 
the equity of his decisions were impeached. On one occa- " 
sion, two men were disputing in a public-house about the 
result of an arbitration, when a third said, " Had John 
Dickinson any thing to do with it ?" — u Yes," was the 
reply. " Then all was right, I am sure ;" and in this opi- 
nion the whole party concurred, and the disputation ceased. 

Ps. cxxi. ver. 5. — The Lord is thy keeper. 

In the year 1752, Dr Gill had a memorable escape from 
death in his own study. One of his friends had mentioned 
to him a remark of Dr Halley, the celebrated astronomer, 
that close study preserves a man's life, by keeping him out 
of harm's way ; but one day, after he had just left his 
room to go to preach, a stack of chimneys was blown 
down, forced its way through the roof of the house, and 
broke his writing table, in the very spot where a few mi- 
nutes before he had been sitting. The doctor very pro- 
perly remarked afterwards to his friend, " A man may come 
to danger and harm in the closet as well as in the high 
way, if he be not protected by the special care of Divine 
Providence." 

Ps. cxxii. ver. 1. — I was glad when they said unto 
me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. 

Mr Joel Barlow of Hartford, in New England, (author 
of the Advice to Privileged Orders,) meeting the Rev. Mr 
Strong, of the same place, one day, asked him why he did 
not publish the set of sermons he had so long promised the 



PSALM CXXV. 289 

world ? " There is one subject," replied Mr Strong, " I 
cannot get master of." " What is that ?" said Mr Bar- 
low. " To reconcile the profession of the Christian reli- 
gion," said Mr S., " with non-attendance on public wor- 
ship." 

Ps. cxxiii. ver. 4. — The contempt of the proud. 

Demetrius, one of Alexander's successors, was so proud 
and disdainful, as not to allow those who transacted busi- 
ness with him liberty of speech ; or else he treated them 
with so much rudeness, as obliged them to quit his presence 
in disgust. He suffered the Athenian ambassadors to wait 
two whole years before he gave them audience ; and by the 
haughtiness of his behaviour, at last provoked his subjects 
to revolt from his authority, and expel him from his throne 

Ps. cxxiv. ver. 8. — Our help is in the name of the 
Lord, who made heaven and earth. 

" I well remember," says an eminent minister in North 
Wales, " that when the Spirit of God first convinced me of 
my sin, guilt, and danger, and of the many difficulties and 
enemies I must encounter, if ever I intended setting out 
for heaven, I was often to the last degree frightened ; the 
prospect of those many strong temptations and vain allure- 
ments to which my youthful years would unavoidably ex- 
pose me, greatly discouraged me. And I often used to tell 
an aged soldier of Christ, the first and only christian friend 
I had any acquaintance with for several years, that I wished 
/ had borne the burden and heat of the day like him. His 
usual reply was — c That so long as I feared, and was hum- 
bly dependent upon God, I should never fall, but certainly 
prevail.' I have found it so. O, blessed be the Lord, 
that I can now raise up my Ebenezer, and say, ' Hitherto 
hath the Lord upheld me.' " 

Ps. cxxv. ver. 2. — As the mountains are round 
about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his 
people from henceforth, even for ever. 

A chief in Eimeo, (a South Sea island) having embraced 
the gospel, became an object of hatred and abhorrence to 
the idolaters. A party of these conspired to kill him, 
when he and a few other pious persons were assembled to- 
gether in the evening for prayer. The ruffians came secretly 
2n 



290 PSALM CXXVII. 

upon them, armed with muskets, and, levelling their pieces, 
were about to destroy the whole group at a volley. Their 
deliverance was singularly providential : the marked vic- 
tims within knew nothing of the lurking assassins without ; 
yet were the latter restrained from executing their diabo- 
lical purpose by an influence, which, as they afterwards 
declared, they could not understand. Seized with sudden 
horror at the deed on which they had been so desperately 
bent, they threw down the murderous engines, and, rushing 
into the room, confessed their guilt. The Christians re- 
ceived them with so much kindness, and so freely forgave 
them — thus heaping coals of fire upon their head — that 
they were utterly overcome, and went away, promising never 
to molest them again ; and they kept their word. 

Ps. exxvi. ver. 3. — The Lord hath done great things 
for us, whereof we are glad. 

When the deputation from the London Missionary So- 
ciety, in 1821, visited Eimeo, five of the deacons of the 
church there, came to express their joy at their arrival. 
The deputation most heartily returned their congratula- 
tions, by declaring their wonder and delight at beholding 
what great things the Lord had done for them. One of 
these, who was spokesman for his brethren, said, among 
other strong observations, u We are brands plucked out of 
the burning. Satan was destroying, and casting us, one 
after another, into the flames of hell ; but Jehovah came 
and snatched us out of his hands, and threw water upon 
the fire that was consuming us — so we were saved !" 

Ps. cxxvii. ver. 1. — Except the Lord build the 
house, they labour in vain that build it. 

It is the custom, in the valleys of the canton of Berne, 
when the father of a family builds a house, and the walls 
are raised to their full height, to request the minister of the 
parish to pray to God inside. The workmen meet toge- 
ther, and unite in thanking the Lord for his care hitherto, 
and entreat a continuance of it through the more dangerous 
part that remains. A blessing terminates this pious cere- 
mony, the pastor retires, the workmen return to their la- 
bours, and the noise of hammers begins to be heard again. 



PSALM CXXX. 291 

Ps. cxxviii. ver. 6. — Thou shalt see thy children's 
children. 

The Rev. Henry Erskine's father's family was uncom- 
monly large, consisting of thirty-three children ; and so 
great was the number of grandchildren, with whom this 
venerable patriarch, for some time prior to his death, was 
surrounded, that, according to tradition, he could not re- 
collect them by face, and when he happened to see them, 
frequently proposed the friendly question, — u Who are you, 
my little man ?" 

Ps. cxxix. ver. 5. — Let them all be confounded 
that hate Zion. 

The disease of which Herod the Great died, and the 
misery which he suffered under it, plainly showed, that the 
hand of God was then in a signal manner upon him ; for 
not long after the murders at Bethlehem, his distemper, as 
Josephus informs us, daily increased in an unheard-of 
manner. He had a lingering and wasting fever, and 
grievous ulcers in his entrails and bowels ; a violent colic, 
and insatiable appetite ; a venomous swelling in his feet ; 
convulsions in his nerves ; a perpetual asthma, and offen- 
sive breath : rottenness in his joints and other members ; 
accompanied with prodigious itchings, crawling worms, 
and intolerable smell : so that he was a perfect hospital of 
incurable distempers. 

Ps. cxxx. ver. 4. — There is forgiveness with thee, 
that thou mayest he feared. 

One Mr Davies, a young man, being under religious 
impressions, opened his mind to Dr Owen. In the course 
of conversation, Dr Owen said, " Young man, pray, in 
what manner do you think to go to God ?" Mr Davies 
replied, " Through the Mediator, Sir." " That is easily 
said," observed Dr Owen; "but I assure you, it is an- 
other thing to go to God through the Mediator, than many 
who make use of the expression are aware of. I myself 
preached some years, while I had but very little, if any, 
acquaintance with access to God through Christ, until the 
Lord was pleased to visit me with a sore affliction, by which 
I was brought to the brink of the grave, and under which 
my mind was filled with horror : but God was graciously 



292 PSALM CXXXIII. 

pleased to relieve my soul by a powerful application of Ps. 
cxxx. 4. 'But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou 
mayest be feared.' From this text I received special light, 
paace, and comfort, in drawing near to God through the 
Mediator ; and on this text I preached immediately after 
my recovery." — Perhaps to this exercise of mind we owe 
his excellent exposition of this Psalm. 

Ps. cxxxi. ver. 1. — Lord, my heart is not haughty, 
nor mine eyes lofty. 

If good men cannot always use this language of David, 
it is their prevailing desire that they should be able to do 
so, and if at any time they have been exalted above mea- 
sure, like Hezekiah, they will humble themselves for the 
pride of their hearts. " I was this day tempted with pride," 
says the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine in his diary, " and a vain 
elation of mind, on the composure of a sermon which 
pleased me, and which I was composing for Edinburgh 
Sacrament, on the 20th of this month (March 8, 1715.) 
It is a wonder that the Lord — he who beholds the proud 
afar off — does not blast me in some visible way, on this 
account. I prayed to the Lord to deliver me from pride 
of gifts. O it is a hateful sin. O Lord, keep me from it, 
and help me to be humble, to be like Christ ; and to 
preach Christ, and not to preach myself." 

Ps. cxxxii. ver. 9. — Let thy priests be clothed 
with righteousness ; and let thy saints shout for joy. 

u I hope," says Dr Doddridge, " my younger brethren 
in the ministry will pardon me, if I entreat their particular 
attention to this admonition — Not to give the main part of 
their time to the curiosities of learning, and only a few 
fragments of it to their great work, the cure of souls ; lest 
they see cause in their last moments to adopt the words of 
dying Grotius, perhaps with much more propriety than he 
could use them — c I have lost a life in busy trifling.' " 

Ps. cxxxiii. ver. 1. — Behold, how good and how 
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ! 

A little boy seeing two nestling birds pecking at each 
other, inquired of his elder brother what they were doing. 
u They are quarrelling," was the answer. " No," replied 
the child, " that cannot be, they are brothers" 



PSALM CXXXV. 293 

Ps. cxxxiv. ver. 3. — The Lord — made heaven and 
earth. 

Alphonsus X., King of Leon and Castile, was one of 
the most learned men of his age. He acquired a profound 
knowledge of astronomy, philosophy, and history, and 
composed books on the motions of the heavens, and the 
history of Spain, that are highly commended. But no 
one can be mentioned, as a more striking proof that the 
wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. So vain, 
presumptuous, and impious, was this philosophical king, 
that one of his sayings was — " If I had been of God's 
Privy Council when he made the world, I would have ad- 
vised him better." 

Ps. cxxxv. ver. 15. — The idols of the heathen are 
silver and gold, the work of men s hands. 

A native gentleman of India, in relating his history to 
one of the missionaries, says — " My father was officiating 
priest of a heathen temple, and was considered, in those 
days, a superior English scholar ; and by teaching the 
English language to wealthy natives, realized a very large 
fortune. At a very early period, when a mere boy, I was 
employed by my father to light the lamps in the pagoda, 
and attend to the various things connected with the idols. 
I hardly remember the time when my mind was not exer- 
cised on the folly of idolatry. These things I thought 
were made by the hand of man, can move only by man, 
and whether treated well or ill, are unconscious of either. 
Why all this cleaning, anointing, illuminating ? &c. One 
evening, these considerations so powerfully wrought on my 
youthful mind, that instead of placing the idols according 
to custom, I threw them from their pedestals, and left 
them with their faces in the dust. My father, on witness- 
ing what I had done, chastised me so severely, as to leave 
me almost dead. I reasoned with him, that if they could 
not get up out of the dust, they were not able to do what 
I could ; and that instead of being worshipped as gods, 
they deserved to lie in the dust, where I had thrown them. 
He was implacable, and vowed to disinherit me, and as the 
first step to it, sent me away from his house. He relented 
on his death-bed, and left me all his wealth. 1 ' 
2 B 2 



29^ PSALM CXXXVIII. 

Ps. cxxxvi. Yer. 1. — O give thanks unto the Lord; 
for he is good : for his mercy endnreth for ever. 

" This day, August 8, 1722/' writes Ebenezer Erskine 
in his diary, " I could not think there was the least spark 
of grace or good in me, or about me ; and I was thinking 
that I should never see the Lord any more. Bat O the 
trophies and triumphs of free grace; for this night in fa- 
mily prayer the Lord did begin to loose my bonds, and 
both heart and tongue were loosed together, to my sur- 
prise ; and it was ordered in providence, that, in my ordi- 
nary in secret this night, I did sing Psalm cxxxvi., where 
twenty-six times it is repeated, c His grace and mercy never 
faileth ;' and O, the repetition of this word at every other 
line was sweet. I began to hope that I shall sing it as a 
new song through eternity, that c His grace never faileth, 
his mercy endureth for ever.' And I think that none in 
heaven will have more occasion to raise their hallelujahs of 
praise to free grace than I have." 

Ps. cxxxvii. ver. 5, 6. — If I forget thee, O Jeru- 
salem, let my right hand forget her cunning. — If I 
do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the 
roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above 
my chief joy. 

When Bishop Beveridge was on his death-bed, he did 
not know any of his friends or connections. A minister, 
with whom he had been well acquainted, visited him. 
When conducted into his room, he said, " Bishop Beve- 
ridge, do you know me ?" " Who are you ?" said the 
bishop. Being told who the minister was, he said that he 
did not know him. Another friend came, who had been 
equally well known, and accosted him in a similar manner ; 
to whom he made a similar reply. His wife then came to 
his bed-side, and asked him if he knew her. " Who are 
you ?" said he. Being told she was his wife, he said he 
did not know her. " Well," said one, " Bishop Beveridge, 
do you know the Lord Jesus Christ ?" — " Jesus Christ !" 
said he, reviving, as if the name had upon him the influence 
of a charm, " O, yes ! I have known Him these forty years. 
Precious Saviour ! He is my only hope !" 

Ps. cxxxviii. ver. 7. — Though I walk in the midst 
of trouble, thou wilt revive me. 



PSALM CXL. 295 

Mr Patrick Macwarth, who lived in the west of Scot- 
land, whose heart the Lord, in a remarkable way, opened, 
was, after his conversion, in such a frame, so affected with the 
discoveries of the love of God, and of the blessedness of the 
life to come, that for some months together he seldom slept, 
being so taken up in wondering at the kindness of his Re- 
deemer. His life was distinguished for tenderness of walk, 
and near communion with God. One day, after the death 
of his son, who was suddenly taken away, he retired alone 
for several hours, and afterwards appeared so remarkably 
cheerful, that inquiry was made why he looked so cheerful 
in a time of such affliction. He replied, " He had got that 
in his retirement with the Lord, which, to have it afterwards 
renewed, he would gladly lose a son every day." 

Ps. cxxxix. ver. 20. — Thine enemies take thy 
name in vain. 

Mr White, a substantial tradesman of London, had been 
imprisoned and fined for non-conformity. In the course 
of his examination, the Lord Chief Justice, not being 
pleased with an answer given, profanely swore by the holy 
name of God. This did not pass unnoticed by the good 
puritan, who reproved his lordship in the following delicate 
and modest manner : — " I would speak a word, which I 
am sure will offend, and yet I must speak it, I heard the 
name of God taken in vain ; if I had done it, it had been 
a greater offence than that which I stand here for." 

Ps. cxl. ver. 7. — Thou hast covered my head in 
the day of battle. 

u A short time since," says one, " I had an opportunity 
of seeing a young man who mingled in the sad scene at 
Waterloo. It was the first time he had seen such a sight ; 
and at the approach of so vast a number of men and horses, 
armed with the instruments of death, he was naturally filled 
with consternation and fear. Calling to recollection what 
his pious father had often told him, to seek the protection 
of God, who is a present help in the hour of danger, he 
retired to a private place, and implored the protection of 
the Almighty. A very wicked lieutenant, who was in the 

regiment, the 7th , overheard him, and laughing, said, 

' There is no danger of you being killed to-day,' and 
treated the duty of prayer in a very light manner. They 
went both to the field, where, in a short time, they were 



296 PSALM CXLIII. 

called to engage ; and the second volley from the enemy 
separated the lieutenant's head from his body." How much 
better to have imitated the conduct of the young man, in 
committing himself to God's protection, who could either 
have preserved him unhurt, or prepared him by his grace 
for sudden death ! 

Ps. cxli. ver. 5. — Let the righteous smite rne, it 
shall be a kindness ; and let him reprove me, it shall 
be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head. 

It is related in the u Life of Mrs Savage," an excellent 
sister of the Rev. Matthew Henry, that when some re- 
spectable pious gentlemen were one Sabbath evening assem- 
bled together, they unhappily engaged in conversation un- 
suitable to the day. Betty Parsons, a good old woman, 
overhearing them, said, " Sirs, you are making work for 
repentance." This short and seasonable rebuke restrained 
them, and turned their conversation into a better channel. 

Ps. cxlii. ver. 7. — Bring my soul out of prison, that 
I may praise thy name. 

As the advancement of the Divine glory should be the 
chief end of all our actions, so it will be found the most 
powerful plea in prayer. — A man once complained to his 
minister, that he had prayed for a whole year that he might 
enjoy the comforts of religion, but found no answer to his 
prayers. His minister replied, u Go home now and pray, 
4 Father, glorify thyself.' " 

Ps. cxliii. ver. 9. — Deliver me, O Lord, from mine 
enemies : I flee unto thee to hide me. 

G-ustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, when in his camp 
before "YTerben, had been alone, at one time, in the cabinet 
of his pavilion some hours together, and none of his at- 
tendants at these seasons durst interrupt him. At length, 
however, a favourite of his having some important matter 
to tell him, came softly to the door, and, looking in, be- 
held the king very devoutly on his knees at prayer. Fear- 
ing to molest him in that exercise, he was about to with- 
draw his head, when the king espied him, and, bidding 
him come in, said, u Thou wonderest to see me in this 
posture, since I have so many thousands of subjects to pray 
for me ; but I tell thee, that no man has more need to pray 



PSALM CXLVI. 297 

for himself than he, who, being to render an account of his 
actions to none but God, is, for that reason, more closely 
assaulted by the devil than all other men besides." 

Ps. cxliv. ver. 12. — That our sons may be as plants 
grown up in their youth. 

A Campanian lady, who was very rich, and fond of 
pomp and show, in a visit to Cornelia, a Roman lady, hav- 
ing displayed her diamonds, pearls, and richest jewels, 
earnestly desired Cornelia to let her see her jewels also. 
This amiable lady diverted the conversation to another sub- 
ject, till the return of her sons from the public schools. 
When they entered their mother's apartments, she said to 
her visitor, pointing to them, " These are my jewels, and 
the only ornaments I admire ; and such ornaments, which 
are the strength and support of society, add a brighter lustre 
to the fair than all the jewels of the east." 

Ps. cxlv. ver. 4. — One generation shall praise thy 
works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. 

The mother of a Sabbath school boy, about thirteen years 
of age, who had just lost her husband, overwhelmed with 
grief, exclaimed, " O, how shall we miss your father at 
morning and evening prayer !" — " Yes, mother," said the 
boy, " we shall miss him ; but, for all that, we must not 
forget nor omit it, and if you will permit me, I will try." 
The excellent boy continued to officiate as leader in the 
devotional exercises of the family. 

Ps. cxlvi. ver. 7. — Which giveth food to the 
hungry. 

" Being detained," says General Burn, u on board the 
Cormorant at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, for nearly a 
month, by strong westerly winds, I grew weary, and being 
anxious to know something about the Royal George, I set 
off early one fine morning in the passage-boat for Ports- 
mouth, purposely to inquire at the Admiral's office if she 
was soon expected in port. I fully intended to have re- 
turned to Cowes by the first boat, as I had just money 
enough left for that purpose ; but to my great sorrow, 
about noon it began to blow a most violent gale, so that 
none of the boats would venture out for several days. 
Never was I placed in a more distressing situation. A 
perfect stranger in Portsmouth, with only a few pence in 



%98 PSALM CXLVII. 

my pocket, I continued walking round and round the ram- 
parts nearly the whole of the day, till I was so completely 
worn out with fatigue and hunger, that the violence of the 
wind almost drove me off my legs. Night was approach- 
ing ; finding it impossible to continue in this state much 
longer, and being well nigh distracted, I began to devise 
schemes where I should rest, and I should satisfy crav- 
ing appetite. At last I fixed on the following expedient : 
— Having a pair of silver buckles on my shoes, the gift of 
an affectionate sister, I determined, though grieved at the 
deed, to take them to some Jew in the town, and exchange 
them for metal ones, in hope that the overplus would pro- 
cure me a lodging, and purchase some food. Just as I was 
stepping off the rampart to put my plan into execution, I 
was accosted in a very friendly manner by an old acquaint- 
ance, who shook me by the hand, and asked me if I had 
dined. When I answered in the negative, he replied, ( Then 
come along with me ; we are just in time.' By this friend 
I was plentifully supplied for a few days, till the weather 
permitted me to return to my ship at Cowes. Thus the 
same compassionate God who feeds the ravens when they 
cry, was at no loss to find means to supply the wants of an 
ungrateful mortal, who did not then seek him by prayer, 
nor acknowledge the benefit so seasonably bestowed ; but 
having been since several times at Portsmouth, I have walk- 
ed round the ramparts with a glad heart, in the recollection 
of this mercy, praising the Lord under a feeling sense of 
his goodness." 

Ps. cxlvii. ver. 16, — He giveth snow like wool. 

Mr Clark, a pious minister, during a fall of snow, once 
walked from Frome to Bristol, a distance of twenty-four 
miles, to preach : after which, he wrote the following lines 
to a friend : — 

" On Friday last, as well you know, 
I went away in flakes of snow : 
I took the road the horses trod, 
And travell'd on to serve my God ; 
And though I had not horse's strength, 
Yet safely reach 'd the end at length. 
May I so'safely reach the shore 
Where storms and tempests are no more ! 
What though we meet with on the road, 
Some little things that incommode. 
The end will more than overpay, 
For all the troubles of the way *!" 



PSALM CXLIX. 299 

Ps. cxlviii. ver. 13. — Let them praise the name of 
the Lord : for his name alone is excellent. 

** I remember," says Mr Hervey, " a very ingenious gen- 
tleman once showed me a composition in manuscript, which 
he intended for the press, and asked my opinion : it was 
moral, it was delicate, it was highly finished ; but I ven- 
tured to tell him there was one thing awanting, the name 
and merits of the divinely excellent Jesus, without which 
I feared the God of heaven would not accompany it with 
his grace, and without which I was sure the enemy of souls 
would laugh it to scorn. — The gentleman seemed to be 
struck with surprise. ( The name of Jesus /' he replied ; 
c this single circumstance would frustrate all my expec- 
tations, would infallibly obstruct the sale, and make readers 
of refinement throw it aside with disdain.' I can never 
think," adds Mr Hervey, " the spread of our performances 
will be obstructed by pleasing him who has all hearts and 
events in his sovereign hand." He further adds, on pub- 
lishing Theron and Aspasio — " I am willing to put the 
matter to a trial, and myself to practise the advice I gave. 
So far from secreting the amiable and majestic names of 
Jesus, and the adorable Trinity, that I have printed 
them in grand and conspicuous capitals ; that all the world 
may see, I look upon it as my highest honour to acknow- 
ledge, to venerate, to magnify my God and Saviour ; and 
if he has no power over the hearts of men, or nothing to do 
with the events of the world — if acceptance and success are 
none of his gifts, have no dependance on his smile, then I 
am content, perfectly content, to be without them." 

Ps. cxlix. ver. 5. — Let the saints be joyful in 
glory : let them sing aloud upon their beds. 

A pious little boy who attended a Sabbath school, a few 
hours before his death, broke out into singing, and sung so 
loud, as to cause his mother to inquire what he was doing. 
u I am singing my sister's favourite hymn, mother." iC But 
why, my dear, so loud ?" — " Why !" said he, with pecu- 
liar emphasis, " because I am so happy." Just before his 
death, with uplifted hands, he exclaimed, " Father ! Fa- 
ther ! take me, Father !" His parent went to lift him up, 
when, with a smile, he said, " 1 did not call you, father ; 
but I was calling to my heavenly Father to take me ; I shall 
soon be with him ;" and then expired. 



300 PROVERBS IT. 

Ps. cl. ver. 6. — Let every thing that hath breath 
praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. 

Mr John Janeway, on his death-bed, said, " Come, help 
me with praises, all is too little : come, help me, O ye 
glorious and mighty angels, who are so well skilled in this 
heavenly work of praise. Praise him, all ye creatures upon 
the earth ; let every thing that hath being help me to praise 
him. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah I Praise is now 
my work, and I shall be engaged in that sweet employment 
for ever." 



PROVERBS. 






Chap. i. ver. 33. — Whoso hearkeneth unto me 
shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of 
evil. 

An old man, a priest in one of the South Sea Islands, 
who had lived in affluence under the idolatrous system, 
having been converted to Christianity, became compara- 
tively poor. Being asked, afterwards, whether he did not 
repent of having embraced a religion which had cost him 
so much, he calmly replied, " O, no ! — while I was an ido- 
later and a priest, I could never lie down to sleep in peace. 
I was always in fear of being robbed or murdered before 
morning. Often have I awoke in the night, trembling 
with horror ; and then I have sprung up and run among 
the bushes to hide myself, lest any one should come to kill 
me. Now I go to rest without suspicion ; I sleep soundly, 
and never run into the bush for safety, because I know no 
danger. I might lie on my mat till it rotted beneath me, 
before any one would hurt me, by night or by day. I am 
happy ; and therefore I do not repent of what I have 
done." 

Chap. ii. ver. 4. — If thou seekest for her as silver, 
and searchest for her as for hid treasure. 

Very near Colombo is a school built in a beautiful and 
romantic situation, on the high bank of a noble river, across 
which a bridge of boats had recently been thrown for the 



PROVERBS IV. 301 

convenience of the public. A number of fine little boys 
residing on the side of the river, opposite the school, were 
exceedingly anxious to enjoy the benefits of the instruction 
which it afforded, but were utterly unable, from their po- 
verty, to pay the toll for passing this bridge four times every 
day, to and from school. In removing this serious diffi- 
culty, the little fellows showed at once their eagerness to 
obtain instruction, and their native ingenuity. Wearing 
only a light cloth around them, according to the custom of 
the country, they were accustomed to assemble on the bank 
in the morning, and the larger boys binding up the books 
of the smaller ones, which they had home with them to 
learn their tasks, to tie them on the back of their heads, 
and swim over, the little ones following them. And this 
inconvenience they constantly encountered rather than be 
absent from school. 

Chap. iii. ver. 14. — The merchandise of it is better 
than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof 
than fine gold. 

Mr John Elliot was once on a visit to a merchant, and 
finding him in his counting-house, where he saw books of 
business on the table, and all his books of devotion on the 
shelf, he said to him, " Sir, here is earth on the table, and 
heaven on the shelf. Pray, don't think so much of the 
table as altogether to forget the shelf." 

Chap. iv. ver. 23. — Keep thy heart with all dili- 
gence : for out of it are the issues of life. 

The Rev. John Flavel being in London in 1672, his old 
bookseller, Mr Boulter, gave him the following relation : — 
" That some time before, a young gentleman came into his 
shop, to inquire for some play-books. He told him he had 
none, but showed him Mr Flavel's small treatise of Keep- 
ing the Heart, entreated him to read it, and assured him it 
would do him more good than any play-book. The gen- 
tleman read the title, and glancing upon several pages here 
and there, broke out into profane expressions. Mr Boulter 
begged him to buy and read it, and told him he had no 
reason to censure it so severely. At last he bought it, but 
told him he would not read it. " What will you do with 
It then ?" said the bookseller. " 1 will tear and burn it." 
2c 



S02 PROVERBS VI. 

" Then," said Mr B., « you shall not have it." Upon this 
the gentleman promised to read it, and Mr B. told him, if 
he disliked it upon reading, he would return him his money. 
About a month after this, the gentleman came to the shop 
again, and with a serious countenance thus addressed Mr 
B. : " Sir, I most heartily thank you for putting this book 
into my hands. I bless God that moved you to do it, — it 
hath saved my soul : blessed be God that ever I came into 
your shop." He then bought a hundred of the books, and 
told him he would give them to the poor who could not 
buy them. 

Chap. v. ver. 11. — How have I hated instruction, 
and my heart despised reproof ! 

" During my residence in India," says one, M I frequent- 
ly visited a British soldier, who was under sentence of 
death, for having, when half intoxicated, wantonly shot a 
black man. In some of my visits to the jail, a number of 
other prisoners came and sat down with this man, to listen 
to a word of exhortation. In one instance, I spoke to them 
particularly on the desireableness of studying the Bible. — 
6 Have any of you a Bible ?' I inquired ; — they answered, 
c No.' c Have any of you ever possessed a Bible ?' — a 
pause ensued. At last the murderer broke silence, and 
amidst sobs and tears confessed that he once had a Bible : 
6 But O,' said he, c I sold it for drink. It was the compa- 
nion of my youth. I brought it with me from my native 
land, and have since sold it for drink ! O, if I had listen- 
ed to my Bible, I should not have been here*'' " 

Chap. vi. ver. 20. — Forsake not the law of thy 
mother. 

H When I was a little child," said a good man, u my 
mother used to bid me kneel beside her, and place her hand 
upon my head while she prayed. Before I was old enough 
to know her worth, she died, and I was left much to my 
own guidance. Like others, I was inclined to evil passions, 
but often felt myself checked, and, as it were, drawn back 
by the soft hand on my head. When I was a young man, 
I travelled in foreign lands, and was exposed to many temp- 
tations : but when I would have yielded, that same hand 
was upon my head, and I was saved. I seemed to feel its 
pressure as in the days of my happy infancy, and sometimes 



PROVERBS X. 303 

there came with it a voice in my heart, — a voice that must 
be obeyed, — 6 O, do not this wickedness, my son, nor sin 
against thy God.' " 

Chap. vii. ver. 27. — Her house is the way to hell, 
going down to the chambers of death. 

A young man, on reaching the door of a theatre, over- 
heard one of the door-keepers calling out,. " This is the way 
to the pit." Having had some instruction in the word of 
God in early life, he interpreted what the man said, that 
the employments of the theatre led to hell. The thought 
haunted him, made hirn cease frequenting such amuse- 
ments ; he became attentive to the concerns of his soul, 
and was afterwards a preacher of the gospel. 

Chap. viii. ver. 15. — By me kings reign, and princes 
decree justice. 

The Bible is the foundation of all good government, as 
it instructs rulers and subjects in their respective duties. 
A French lady once said to Lord Chesterfield, that she 
thought the Parliament of England consisted of five or six 
hundred of the best informed and most sensible men in the 
kingdom. " True, Madam, they are generally supposed to 
be so." " What then, my lord, can be the reason that they 
tolerate so great an absurdity as the Christian religion ?'* 
" I suppose, Madam," replied his lordship, " it is because 
they have not been able to substitute any thing better in its 
stead ; when they can, I do not doubt but in their wisdom 
they will readily adopt it." 

Chap. ix. ver. 13. — A foolish woman is clamor- 
ous. 

A short time since, a mechanic at Winford, near Middle- 
wick, being ill, and unable to attend his work as usual, his 
wife reproached him bitterly ; and in the course of the 
altercation that ensued, worked herself into a furious pas- 
sion, venting the most horrible and blasphemous impre- 
cations on the poor man. In the midst of her frenzy, she 
suddenly lost the use of her sight and speech, became al- 
most completely paralized, and died in a few hours after- 
wards. 

Chap. x. ver. 23. — It is as sport to a fool to do 
mischief. 



304 PROVERBS XII. 

Some years ago, at a place near Penzance, some men and 
boys, accompanied by two young women, having fastened 
a bullock's horn to the tail of a dog, turned the affrighted 
animal loose, and followed with brutal exultation. The 
dog, pursued by its savage tormentors, ran down a lane, 
when meeting a cart, drawn by two horses, laden with 
coals, the horses took fright ; the driver, who was sitting on 
the shafts of the cart, was thrown off, and the wheels pass- 
ing over his head, he was killed on the spot. The persons 
who had occasioned this melancholy accident immediately 
suspended their chase of the dog, and the young women, 
on coming up, found that the lad just killed, was their 
brother. We shall not attempt to describe their feelings. 
The deceased was about seventeen years of age. 

Chap. xi. ver. 2-1. — There is that scattereth., and 
vet inereaseth. 

" When I consider my earthly -mindedness," says the late 
Mr Brown of Haddington, " I admire the almighty grace 
of God, in so disposing my heart, that it has been my care 
rather to manage frugally what God provided for me, than 
greedily to grasp at more. I have looked upon it also as 
a gracious over-ruling of my mind, that though I have often 
grudged paying a penny or two for a trifle, the Lord hath 
enabled me cheerfully to bestow as many pounds for pious 
purposes ; and, owing to a kind Providence, my wealth, in- 
stead of being diminished, by this means is much increas- 
ed. From experience, I can testify, that liberality to the 
Lord is one of the most effectual means of making one 
rich : — e There is that scattereth, and yet inereaseth ; and 
there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth 
to poverty.' " 

Chap. xii. ver. 12. — A righteous man regardeth 
the life of Ins beast. 

' The Rev. Jonathan Scott never neglected his horse at 
home or abroad ; nor would he, either from inattention or 
false delicacy, confide, without inspection, in the care of 
any man. He has been known, at the house of a friend, 
when he has thought his beast in any way neglected, to 
strip and thoroughly clean him with his own hands — ad- 
ministering at once to the comfort of his horse, and reproof 
to the servant of his friend — and even in his prayers he 



PROVERBS XV. 305 

was accustomed, especially in his journeys, to pray for the 
strength and support of his animal, as addressing a God 
whose care and providence extended to all his creatures. 

Chap. xiii. ver. 24. — He that spareth his rod hateth 
his son : but he that loveth him chasteneth him be- 
times. 

" A child," says Mr Abbott of America, u a short time 
since was taken ill with that dangerous disorder, the croup. 
It was a child most ardently beloved, and ordinarily very 
obedient. But in this state of uneasiness and pain, he re- 
fused to take the medicine which it was needful without 
delay to administer. The father rinding him resolute, im- 
mediately punished his sick and suffering son ; under these 
circumstances, and fearing that his son might soon die, 
it must have been a most severe trial to the father ; 
but the consequence was, that the child was taught that 
sickness was no excuse for disobedience ; and while his 
sickness continued, he promptly took whatever medicine 
was prescribed, and was patient and submissive. Soon the 
child was well. Does any one say that this was cruel ? 
It was one of the noblest acts of kindness which could have 
been performed. If the father had shrunk from duty here, 
it is by no means improbable that the life of the child would 
have been the forfeit.' ' 

Chap. xiv. ver. 13. — Even in laughter the heart 
is sorrowful ; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. 

A French physician was once consulted by a person who 
was subject to most gloomy fits of melancholy. He ad- 
vised his patient to mix in scenes of gaiety, and particularly 
to frequent the Italian theatre ; and added, u If Carline 
does not expel your gloomy complaint, your case must be 
desperate indeed.'" The reply of the patient is worthy the 
attention of all those who frequent such places in search of 
happiness, as it shows the unfitness and insufficiency of these 
amusements. "Alas! Sir, I am Carline ; and while I 
divert all Paris with mirth, and make them almost die with 
laughter, I myself am dying with melancholy and chagrin." 

Chap. xv. ver. 16. — Better is little with the fear 
of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble there- 
with. 

2 c 2 



306 PROVERBS XVII. 

A missionary in India says, " I rode to Nallamaram, 
and saw some people of the congregation there, together with 
the catechist. The clothes of one of the women were rather 
dirty, and I asked her about it. c Sir,' said she, ( I am a 
poor woman, and have only this single dress.' c Well, have 
you always been so poor ?' e No, I had some money and 
jewels, but a year ago the Maravers (thieves) came and 
robbed me of all. They told me,' she said, c If you will 
return to heathenism, we shall restore to you every thing."* 
' Well, why did you not follow their advice ? Now you 
are a poor Christian.' c O, Sir, she replied, c I would 
rather be a poor Christian, than a rich heathen. Now I 
can say respecting my stolen property, ' The Lord gave it, 
and the Lord hath taken it again.' " 

Chap. xvi. ver. 19. — Better it is to be of an hum- 
ble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with 
the proud. 

A French writer remarks, that (i the modest deportment 
of those who are truly wise, when contrasted with the as- 
suming air of the young and ignorant, may be compared to 
the different appearance of wheat, which, while its ear is 
empty, holds up its head proudly, but as soon as it is filled 
with grain, bends modestly down, and withdraws from ob- 
servation." 

Chap. xvii. ver. 17. — A friend loveth at all times ; 
and a brother is born for adversity. 

When Socrates was building a house for himself at 
Athens, being asked by one who observed the littleness of 
the design, why a man so eminent should not have an abode 
more suitable to his dignity ? He replied, that he should 
think himself sufficiently accommodated if he should see 
that narrow habitation filled with real friends. Such was 
the opinion of this great master of human nature, concern- 
ing the unfrequency of such a union of minds as might de- 
serve the name of friendship; that among the multitudes 
whom vanity, or curiosity, civility, or veneration brought 
around him, he did not expect that very spacious apart- 
ments would be necessary to contain all who should re- 
gard him with sincere kindness, or adhere to him with 
steady fidelity. 



PROVERBS XX. 307 

Chap, xviii. ver. 4. — The words of a man's mouth 
are as deep waters, and the well-spring of wisdom as 
a flowing brook. 

" For my part," says Mr Hervey, cc when Christ and his 
righteousness are the subject of conference, I know not how 
to complain of poverty. I feel no weariness ; but could 
rather delight to talk of them without ceasing. — Would 
not you expect to hear of engagements and victories from a 
soldier ? Would any be surprised to find a merchant dis- 
coursing of foreign affairs, or canvassing the state of trade ? 
Why, then, should not the agents for the court of heaven 
treat of heavenly things ? Why should not their whole 
conversation savour of their calling ? Why should they be 
one thing when they bend the knee or speak from the pul- 
pit, and quite a different one when they converse in the 
parlour ?" 

Chap. xix. ver. 7. — All the brethren of the poor 
do hate him ; how much more do his friends go far 
from him; he pursueth them with words, yet they are 
wanting to him. 

In giving an account of the state of the Sandwich Is- 
lands, the missionaries state, that the helpless and depend- 
ant, whether from age or sickness, are often cast from the 
habitations of their relatives and friends, to languish and to 
die — unattended and unpitied. An instance recently came 
to their knowledge, in which a poor wretch thus perished 
within sight of their dwelling, after having lain uncovered 
for days and nights in the open air, most of the time plead- 
ing in vain to his family, still within the hearing of his 
voice, for a drink of. water. And when he was dead, his 
body, instead of being buried, was merely drawn so far into 
the bushes, as to prevent the offence that would have arisen 
from the corpse, and left a prey to the dogs who prowl 
through the district in the night ! 

Chap. xx. ver. 22. — Say not thou, I will recom- 
pense evil. 

A gentleman once sent his servant to John Bruen, Esq., 
of Stapleton, in the county of Chester, forbidding him 
ever to set a foot upon his ground ; to whom he sent this 
truly christian reply : — u If it please your master to walk 
upon my grounds, he shall be very welcome ; but if he 



308 PROVERBS XXIII. 

will please to come to my house, he shall be still more 
welcome." By this meek reply, the gentleman was soften- 
ed into kindness, and became his friend ever after. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 7. — The robbery of the wicked 
shall destroy them. 

Bishop Hall relates the case of an old plain man in the 
country, into whose solitary dwelling some thieves broke. 
Taking advantage of the absence of his family, and finding 
him sitting alone by his fireside, they fell violently upon 
him ; when one of them, presenting his dagger to the old 
man's breast, swore that he would presently kill him if he 
did not instantly deliver to them the money which they 
knew he had lately received. The old man, looking boldly 
into the face of the villain, replied, with an undaunted 
courage — " Nay, if I were killed by thee, I have lived 
long enough ; but I tell thee, son, unless thou mend thy 
manners, thou wilt never live to see half my days." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 19. — That thy trust maybe in the 
Lord. I have made known to thee this day. even to thee. 

A gentleman being one day much struck with the scrip- 
tural knowledge of an old lady, with whom he was con- 
versing, asked her how she had attained such an extensive 
acquaintance with the word of God ? To this question she 
made the following reply : — Ci Sir, much is lost by not con- 
sidering the word of God as addressed to us as individuals. 
For these thirty years, I have read the word of God, care- 
fully attended to every part of it, as if I had been the only 
person in the world to whom it was addressed ; and, if I 
know any thing above my neighbours, under the blessing of 
God, I owe it entirely to this practice." 

Chap. xxiii. ver. 26. — My son, give me thine heart. 

A Hindoo, after spending some years in seclusion, and 
in endeavouring to obtain the mastery of his passions, came 
to a mission station, where he thus accosted the mission- 
ary : — u I have a flower, a precious flower, to present as an 
offering ; but as yet I have found none worthy to receive 
it." Hearing of the love of Christ, he said, i( I will offer 
my flower to Christ, for he is worthy to receive it." This 
flower was his heart. Jesus accepted it, and, after a short 
time, transplanted it to bloom in the bowers of Eden. 



PROVERBS XXVI. 309 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 9. — The thought of foolishness is sin. 
A Jew of Morocco, who read Hebrew with Mr Jowett, 
once told him that " God is so merciful that he will not 
punish our evil thoughts, unless they break out into act ; 
then, and not till then, they become sin. Our good thoughts, 
on the contrary, even if we should not find opportunity to 
put them in practice, will be counted as good deeds, as 
much as if they had been performed." Ci I urged," says Mr 
J., u all that I could against such a pernicious maxim. He 
made one exception, — c The thought of idolatry is sin ; but 
to intend to commit murder, adultery, drunkenness, &c. 
is no sin, unless the act is committed.' " 

Chap. xxv. ver. 21, 22. — If thine enemy he 
hungry, give him bread to eat ; and if he he thirsty, 
give him water to drink : — For thou shalt heap 
coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall re- 
ward thee. 

During the persecuting times in England, two persons 
from Bedford went early one morning to the house of a 
pious man, who rented a farm in the parish of Keysoe, with 
the intention of apprehending and imprisoning him in Bed- 
ford jail for non- conformity. The good man knew their 
intention, and desired his wife to prepare breakfast, at the 
same time kindly inviting his visitors to partake with them. 
In asking a blessing or in returning thanks for the food, he 
pronounced emphatically these words, — u If thine enemy 
hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink," — by which 
means the hearts of his persecutors were so far softened 
that they went away without taking him into cnstody. 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 28. — A flattering mouth work- 
eth ruin. 

A clergyman in New England, eminent both for talents 
and humility, was one day accosted by a parishioner, who 
highly commended some of his performances, of which the 
clergyman himself had a very low opinion. After patient- 
ly hearing him a few minutes, the clergyman replied, " My 
friend, all that you say gives me no better opinion of myself 
than I had before, but gives me a much worse opinion of 
you." 



310 PROVERBS XXIX. 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 10.— Thine own friend, and thy 
father s friend, forsake not. 

The late excellent Mr Cathcart of Drum, was in the 
practice of keeping a diary, which, however, included one 
particular department, seldom to be found in like cases. 
Mr Cathcart describes his plan and object in the following 
words : — u A memorial of acts of kindness, that as memory- 
is liable to fail, and as the kindness and friendship of for- 
mer times may be forgotten, the remembrance of friendly 
offices done to the writer or his family, or to his particular 
friends, might be preserved, in order that he may himself 
repay the debt in grateful acknowledgments while he lived, 
and that his family after him might know to whom their 
father owed obligations, and might feel every debt of gra- 
titude due by him as an obligation on themselves." 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 24. — Whoso robbeth his father 
or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression ; the 
same is the companion of a destroyer. 

About the end of the year 1774, the following unnatural 
robbery was committed. A tradesman and his wife had 
occasion to go out of town, and on their return home, hor- 
rible to relate, they were stopped by two of their own sons. 
The father expostulated with them for some time, as did 
also their mother, without effect. One of them drove a 
pistol against his mother's eye, and it was feared she would 
lose the sight of it. The father died shortly after of a 
broken heart, and apprehensions were entertained that the 
mother would not long survive. 

Chap. xxix. ver. 27. — An unjust man is an abo- 
mination to the just ; and he that is upright in the 
way is abomination to the wicked. 

The late Rev. Jonathan Scott, who had been for some 
time an officer in the army, and an irreligious man, says in 
a letter to a friend, " I find that before I left the regiment, 
in order to go to Shrewsbury, I began to be a suspected 
person. Attending the ministry of such a notorious person 
as dear Romaine, and associating with some christian 
people, were sufficient to cause suspicions that I was turned 
this, and turned that. Upon my rejoining the regiment, I 
found it was no longer bare suspicion. Now they are con- 



PROVERBS XXXI. 311 

vinced I am turned an arrant Methodist ; and this their per- 
suasion is a very lucky one for me ; for now they begin to 
think my company not worth being over-solicitous about ; 
and I am sure you will readily believe that a very little of 
theirs is enough to satisfy me ; or, more properly speaking, 
to dissatisfy me, so as to be tired of it, since their whole 
conversation consists in idle, vain nonsense, larded with 
horrid oaths and filthy obscenity ; this is the more shocking 
to me, as I must sometimes be present at it, and have it 
not in my power to remedy it." 

Chap. xxx. ver. 17. — The eye that mocketh at 
his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ra- 
vens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young 
eagles shall eat it. 

Dr Adam Clarke, when a boy, having one day disobey- 
ed his mother, she took the Bible, and read and commented 
on the preceding passage in a very serious manner — The 
poor culprit was cut to the heart, believing the words had 
been sent immediately from heaven. He went out into the 
field with a troubled spirit, and was musing on this awful 
denunciation of Divine displeasure, [when the hoarse croak 
of a raven sounded in his conscience an alarm more terrible 
than the cry of fire at midnight ! He looked up, and soon 
perceived this most ominous bird, and actually supposing 
it to be the raven of which the text spoke coming to pick 
out his eyes, he clapped his hands on them, and with the 
utmost speed ran home, to escape the impending danger. 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 5. — Lest they drink, and forget 
the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the 
afflicted. 

Philip, King of Macedon, having drunk too much wine, 
determined a cause unjustly, to the hurt of a poor widow, 
who, when she heard his decree, bcldly cried out, " I appeal 
to Philip sober." The king, struck with this strange ap- 
peal, began to recover his senses, heard the cause anew, and 
finding his mistake, ordered her to be paid, out of his own 
purse, double the sum she was to have lost. 



312 ECCLESIASTES IV. 



ECCLESIASTES. 

Chap. i. ver. 14. — I have seen all the "works that 
are done under the sun ; and, behold, all is vanity 
and vexation of spirit. 

Mr Locke, about two months before his death, drew up 
a letter to a certain gentleman, and left this direction on it, 
" To be delivered to him after my decease." In it are these 
remarkable words : — " This life is a scene of vanity that 
soon pases away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in 
the consciousness of doing well, and in the hopes of another 
life. This is what I can say upon experience, and what 
you will find to be true, when you come to make up the ac- 
count." 

Chap. ii. ver. 2. — I said of laughter, It is mad : and 
of mirth, What doeth it ? 

The Rev. Jonathan Scott, meeting at one place, with 
some ladies, who came to speak to him after preaching, one 
of them said, " Do you remember, Sir, dancing with us at 
such a time and place?" He replied, "O yes, Madam, Ire- 
member it very well ; and am much ashamed of those days 
of my vanity ; but, Madam, you and I are many years 
older now, and so much nearer death and eternity." He 
then proceeded to speak of the great things of God. 

Chap. iii. ver. 12. — I know that there is no good 
in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in 
Iris life. 

When Colonel Gardiner was raised from being Major, 
he observed, that it was as to his personal concern mnch the 
same to him, whether he had remained in his former sta- 
tion or been elevated to this, but that if God should by this 
means honour him as an instrument of doing more good 
than he could otherwise have done, he should rejoice in it. 

Chap. iv. ver. 4. — I considered every right work, 
that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. 

" Dionysius the tyrant," says Plutarch, cc out of envy, 
punished Philoxenius, the musician, because he could sing ; 



ECCLESIASTES VI. 813 

and Plato the philosopher, because he could dispute better 
than himself." 

Chap. v. ver. 5. — Better is it that thou shouldest 
not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 

cc Monday evening," writes Mrs Judson, " the daughters 
of- sent to invite me and my sisters to spend the even- 
ing with them, and make a family visit. I hesitated a 
little, but considering that it was to be a family party mere- 
ly, I thought I could go without breaking my resolutions. 
Accordingly I went, and found that two or three other 
families of young ladies had been invited. Dancing was 
soon introduced — my religious plans were forgotten — I 
joined with the rest — was one of the gayest of the gay — and 
thought no more of the new life I had begun. On my 
return home, I found an invitation from Mrs — in wait- 
ing, and accepted it at once. My conscience let me pass 
quietly through the amusements of that evening also ; but 
when I retired to my chamber, on my return, it accused 
me of breaking my most solemn resolution. I thought I 
should never dare to make others, for I clearly saw that I 
was unable to keep them." 

Chap. vi. ver. 12. — Who knoweth what is good 
for man in this life. 

A minister of Bristol, preaching on the preceding text, 
introduced the following anecdote into his discourse, re- 
lated to him by his father, who knew the circumstance to 
be true. — A gentleman in an extensive line of business in 
a distant part of the country, left his house with an inten- 
tion of going to Bristol fair; but when he had proceeded 
about half way on his journey, he was seized with a violent 
fit of the stone, which detained him several days at the 
place ; and as the fair was by this time nearly over, he was 
induced to return home, Some years after, the same gen- 
tleman happening to be on business at some place where 
the assizes for the county were held, was present at the ex- 
ecution of a criminal who was then about to suffer. Whilst 
he was mixed with the crowd, the criminal intimated a wish 
to speak with him, and signified that he had something to 
communicate to him. The gentleman approached, and 
was addressed to the following effect : — 4< Do you recollect 
baring intended at such a time to go to Bristol fair ?" 
2 D 



314 ECCLESUSTES IX, 

"Yes/' replied the gentleman, " perfectly well." " It is 
well you did not,' ' said the criminal, " for it was the inten- 
tion of myself and several others, who knew that you had a 
considerable sum of money about you, to way -lay and rob, 
and, if I mistake not, murder you, to escape detection." 

Chap. vii. ver. 2. — It is better to go to the house 
of moimring, than to go to the house of feasting : 
for that is the end of all men ; and the living will lay 
it to his heart. 

When the late Rev. W. Moorhouse, of Huddersfield, 
was one day during his last illness talking of the heavenly 
state, which he expected soon to enter, one of his friends 
said to him, " You think too much about another world ; 
think and talk a little of this life." He replied, " Oh, but 
I am going there ! fand, whether I talk about it or not, I 
must go, for I am fast hastening to an unseen world ; the 
outward man is fast decaying, and it will soon be c dust to 
dust.' " With his eyes very devoutly raised, and exhibit- 
ing an animated countenance, he then exclaimed — 

e< There is a house not made with hands, 
Eternal and on high : 
And heremv waiting spirit stands, 
Till God shall bid it fly." 

Chap. viii. ver. 1. — Who is as the wise man? — 
a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the 
boldness of his face shall be changed. 

Mr Philip Henry used to remark, u that it is strange to 
see sometimes what an awe arises upon the spirits of wicked 
men, from the very company and presence of one eminent 
in holiness ; they dare not do then, as they dare and do at 
other times. One having dined with Mr John Dod, said 
afterwards, that he did not think it could have been possible 
to have forborne swearing so long." 

Chap. ix. ver. 7. — Eat thy bread With joy, and 
drink thy wine with a merry heart ; for God now 
aceepteth thy works. 

The Rev. Samuel Whiting, a learned and useful minis- 
ter in New England, being at one time on a journey, some 
persons in an adjoining room of the inn, were excessively 
noisy and clamorous in their mirth. Mr Whiting, as he 



ECCLESIASTES XII. 315 

passed by their door, looked in upon them, and with a 
sweet majesty only dropped these words : — " Friends, if you 
are sure that your sins are pardoned, you may be wisely 
merry." These words not only stilled their noise for the 
present, but also had a great effect afterwards on some of 
the company. 

Chap. x. ver. 17. — Thy princes eat in due season, 
for strength, and not for drunkenness. 

A man of temperate habits was once dining at the house 
of a^free drinker. No sooner was the cloth removed from the 
dinner table, than wine and spirits were produced, and he was 
asked to take a glass of spirits and water, " No, thank you," 
said he, u I am not ill." u Take a glass of wine, then," 
said his hospitable host, " or a glass of ale." " No, thank 
you," said he, " I am not thirsty." These answers called 
forth a loud burst of laughter. — Soon after this, the temper- 
ate man took a piece of bread from the side-board, and hand- 
ed it to his host, who refused it, saying that he was not 
hungry. At this the temperate man laughed in his turn. 
a Surely," said he, c; I have as much reason to laugh at you 
for not eating when you are not hungry, as you have to 
laugh at me for declining medicine when not ill, and drink 
when I am not thirsty." 

Chap. xi. ver. 9. — Know thou, that for all these 
things God will bring thee into judgment. 

A person in a stage coach, who had indulged in a strain 
of speech which betrayed licentiousness and infidelity, seem- 
ed hurt that no one either agreed or disputed with him. 
"Well," he exclaimed, as a funeral procession slowly pass- 
ed the coach, " there is the last job of all." Ci No !" replied 
a person directly opposite to him : " No ! for after 
death is the judgment." The speaker was silenced. 

Chap. xii. ver. 4. — Remember now thy Creator in 
the days of thy youth. 

An old man, one day taking a child on his knee, entreat- 
ed him to seek God now — to pray to him — and to love him : 
when the child, looking up at him, asked, " But why do 
not you seek God ?" The old man, deeply affected, an- 
swered, " I would, child ; but my heart is hard — my heart 
is hard." 



3\6 SONG OF SOLOMON lit. 



SONG OF SOLOMON. 

Chap. i. ver 4. — We will remember thy love more 
than wine : the upright love thee. 

In a letter from the Rev. Dr Judson, missionary at Bur- 
mah, addressed to American females, the following anec- 
dote is related ; — cC A Karem woman offered herself for 
baptism. After the usual examination, I inquired whether 
she could give up her ornaments for Christ. It was an un- 
expected blow. I explained the spirit of the gospel. I ap- 
pealed to her own consciousness of vanity. I read to her 
the apostle's prohibition (1 Tim. ii. 9.) She looked again 
and again at her handsome necklace, and then, with an air 
of modest decision, that would adorn, beyond all orna- 
ments, any of my sisters whom I have the honour of ad- 
dressing, she took it ofF, saying, e I love Christ more than 
this.' " 

Chap. ii. ver. 2. — I sat down under his shadow 
with great delight. 

The Rev. Isaac Toms, of Hadleigh, in England, re- 
marked to one of his daughters, on her return from a long 
visit to her friends, — " I have heard of Dryden's content- 
ment, when sitting under the statue of Shakspeare ; and 
that Buffon, the celebrated natural historian, felt himself 
happy at the feet of Sir Isaac Newton ; but," said he, point- 
ing to a picture which hung over his desk, " here you find 
me under the shadow of good Richard Baxter. Yet, my 
dear," added the venerable saint, u the most desirable situ- 
ation in which we can be placed, is to be under the shadow 
of the Almighty ; under the protection of the great Re- 
deemer." 

Chap. iii. ver. 11. — Behold king Solomon with the 
crown. 

The following is an extract from a letter written by Mr 
Strachan, one of the heralds at the coronation of his ma- 
jesty, George ITT — u After the king was crowned, and 
invested with all his royal dignity, all the peers were allow- 
ed the privilege of putting on their crowns, — they looked 



SONG OF SOLOMON V. 317 

like a company of kings, as in some sense they were. But 
immediately they came, one by one, and laid down their 
crowns at their sovereign's feet, in testimony of their hav- 
ing no power or authority but what they derived from him ; 
and having each kissed his sceptre, he allowed each of them 
to kiss himself; upon which their crowns w T ere restored to 
them, and they were all allowed to reign as subordinate 
kings. This could not miss bringing to mind what is re- 
corded in the Revelations, of the whole redeemed company, 
who are said to be kings and priests unto God, and who 
are to reign with Jesus Christ for ever and ever ; their 
casting down their crowns, and saying, c Thou art worthy 
to receive power and majesty.' I thought with myself, 
were I so happy as to make one of that innumerable com- 
pany, redeemed from among men, I should not envy all 
the nobles in England what they are now enjoying." 

Chap. iv. ver. 11. — Thy lips, O niy spouse, drop 
as the honey-comb : honey and milk are under thy 
tongue. 

Mr Hervey, in a letter, says — " I have lately seen that 

most excellent minister of the ever-blessed Jesus, Mr . 

I dined, supped, and spent the evening with him at North- 
ampton, in company with Dr Doddridge, and two pious 
ingenious clergymen of the Church of England, both of 
them known to the learned world by their valuable writings ; 
and surely I never spent a more delightful evening, or saw 
one that seemed to make nearer approaches to the felicity 
of heaven. A gentleman of great worth and rank in the 
town, invited us to his house, and gave us an elegant treat ; 
but how mean was his provision, how coarse his delicacies, 
compared with the fruit of my friend's lips ! — they dropped 
as the honey-comb, and were a well of life." 

Chap. v. ver. 1. — Eat, O friends ; drink, yea, 
drink abundantly, O beloved. 

While the American army, under the command of Ge- 
neral Washington, lay encamped in the environs of Marris- 
town, N. J., the Lord's Supper was to be administered in 
the Presbyterian church of that village. In a morning of 
the previous week, the general visited the house of the Rev. 
Dr Jones, then pastor of that church, and thus accosted 
him : — " Doctor, I understand that the Lord's Supper is 
2d2 



318 SONG OF SOLOMON VIII. 

to be celebrated with you next Sabbath ; I would learn if 
it accords with the canons of your church to admit com- 
municants of another denomination ?" The Doctor re- 
joined, " Most certainly ; ours is not the Presbyterian table, 
General, but the Lord's table ; and we hence give the 
Lord's invitation to all his followers, of whatever name." 
The General replied, u I am glad to hear it — that is as it 
ought to be ; but as I was not quite sure of the fact, I 
thought I would ascertain it from yourself, as I purpose to 
be with you on that occasion. Though a member of the 
church of England, I have not exclusive partialities." The 
Doctor re-assured him of a cordial welcome, and the General 
was found seated with the communicants next Sabbath. 

Chap. vi. ver. 10. — Fail' as the moon. 

The Rev. Ebenezer Erskine has the following entry in 
his diary, of September 23, 1713 : — K I was this day at 
Kirkness and Ballingry, with my wife ; and upon the way 
home, towards the twilight, a little after sun-set, the moon 
appeared in the east, about the full ; and it pleased the 
Lord to give me some views of his power and glory in that 
creature. It appeared to me to be a vast body, bright and 
glorious, hanging pendular upon nothing, supported only 
by the power of the eternal God. I wondered how there 
could be an atheist in the world, that looked on this glori- 
ous creature, wherein there appeared so much of the wisdom 
and power of the Creator." 

Chap. yii. ver. 12. — Let us get up early to the 
vineyards. 

Morier, when he travelled in Persia, observed the people 
sleeping on the house-tops ; he noticed that the women 
were generally up first, and stirring about with activity 

at an early hour Lord Mansfield, a celebrated judge in 

England, used to ask any aged person who came before 
him as a witness, about his manner and habits of life ; and 
he said that among the many hundreds he had spoken to, 
he always found that they were early risers, however they 
might differ in other respects. 

Chap. viii. ver. 7. — If a man would give all the 
substance of his house for love, it would utterly be 
contemned. 

A boy, not five years of age, hearing his parent read the 



ISAIAH II. 319 

parable of the Wedding Garment, and remark on the con- 
cluding sentence — " For many are called, but few are 
chosen," — that it may be understood of such as profess 
to believe in Christ, but are not approved by him ; asked 
why they were not approved ? He was referred to the 
parable, which showed that there was something greatly 
wanting in them. " But what," said he, " is it, that is 
wanting, that Jesus should approve them ? Is it love to 
Jesus Christ V* 



ISAIAH. 



Chap. i. ver. 18. — Though your sins be as scarlet, 
they shall be white as snow ; though they be red like 
crimson, they shall be as wool. 

A sailor on watch, was one evening walking backwards 
and forwards on deck, when a sudden squall of wind 
caused the vessel to give a heavy lurch. The sailor was 
driven against one of the stauneheons, and somewhat in- 
jured. He gave vent to his anger by a dreadful oath — 
cursing the wind, the ship, the sea, and (awful to mention) 
the Being who made them. Scarcely had this horrid oath 
escaped his lips, when it appeared to roll back upon his 
mind with such awfnl force, that, for a moment or two, he 
thought he saw the sea parting, and the vessel going down. 
During the whole of that night, the dreadful oath haunted 
his mind like a spectre, and its consequences appeared to 
bring his certain damnation. For several days he was in 
the deepest distress of mind, till, happening to turn over 
some things in his chest, he found a lenf of the Bible wrap- 
ped about one of the articles in it, containing nearly the 
whole of the first chapter of Isaiah. The reading of the 
above passage, in particular, deeply impressed his mind, 
and, together with his subsequent attendance on the means 
of grace, was the means of relieving him from his distress, 
and he was enabled to believe that the Lord had forgiven 
his great sin. 

Chap. ii. ver. 4. — They shall beat their swords 



320 



ISAIAH III. 



into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : 
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither 
shall they learn war any more. 

The Rev. Mr Orsmond, missionary in Eimeo, says, — 
" A few weeks ago, I overheard some chiefs conversing 
among themselves ; the following are a few of the expres- 
sions which I caught : — f But for our teachers, our grass on 
the hill, our fences and houses, would have been fire ashes 
long ago — (meaning that there would have been wars, in 
which their houses would have been burned, had not Chris- 
tianity been established.) But for the gospel, we should 
now have been on the mountains, squeezing moss for a drop 
of water; eating raw roots, and smothering the cries of our 
children by filling their mouths with grass, dirt, or cloth. 
Under the reign of the Messiah, we stretch out our feet at 
ease ; eat our food, keep our pig by the house, and see 
children, wife, and all, at table in the same house. We do 
not know our ancestors, our kings and our parents ; and 
we were all blind, till the birds flew across the great ex- 
panse with good seeds in their mouths, and planted them 
among us. We now gather the fruit, and have continual 
harvest. It was God who put into the hearts of those 
strangers to come to us. We have nothing to give them. 
They are a people who seek our good ; but we are a people 
of thorny hands, of pointed tongues, and we have no 
thoughts. If God were to take our teachers from us, we 
should soon be savage again. They are the great roots to 
the tree on the high hill ; the wind strikes it, twists it, 
but cannot level it to the ground, for its roots are strong. 
Our hearts delighted in war, but our teachers love peace, 
and we now have peace.' " 

Chap. hi. ver. 22, 23. — The changeable suits of 
apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the 
crispmg-pins, — The glasses, and the fine linen, and 
the hoods, and the vails. 

The Rev. John Harrion, a dissenting minister at Den- 
ton in Norfolk, had two daughters who were much too 
fond of dress, which was a great grief to him. He had 
often reproved them in vain ; and preaching one Sabbath 
day on the sin of pride, he took occasion to notice, among 
other things, pride in dress. After speaking some consider- 



ISAIAH VI. 321 

able time on this subject, he suddenly stopped short, and 
said, with much feeling and expression, " But you will 
say, Look at home. My good friends, T do look at home, 
till my heart aches." 

Chap. iv. ver. 4. — When the Lord shall have 
washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and 
shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the 
midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the 
spirit of burning. 

u I remember," says Mr Whitefield, u some years ago, 
when I was at Shields, I went into a glass-house ; and, 
standing very attentive, I saw several masses of burning 
glass, of various forms. The workman took a piece of 
glass, and put it into one furnace, then he put it into a 
second, and then into a third. I said to him, c Why do 
you put it through so many fires ?' He answered, c O, 
Sir, the first was not hot enough, nor the second, therefore 
we put it into a third, and that will make it transparent.' " 
This furnished Mr Whitefield with a useful hint, that we 
must be tried, and exercised with many fires, until our dross 
be purged away, and we are made fit for the owner's use. 

Chap. v. ver. 22. — Woe unto them that are mighty 
to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong 
drink. 

Two young men, lately drinking together at a public- 
house, in a village near Huntingdon, fell into a conversa- 
tion as to who could drink most without being intoxicated. 
One of them said to the other, i6 I will call for a half- 
crown's worth of gin : if you finish the liquor, I will pay 
for it — if not, you shall." The other agreed to the pro- 
posal, and drank till he fell from the chair, when he was 
carried home, and soon after died. How awful to meet 
death in such a state ! 

Chap. vi. ver. 9. — He said, Go and tell this people, 
Hear ye indeed, but understand not ; and see ye in- 
deed, but perceive not. 

u On the morning before I was licensed," says the late 
Rev. John Brown, " that text was much impressed on my 
spirit, i He said, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, 
but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not,' 



322 ISAIAH VIII. 

&c. Since I was ordained at Haddington, I know, not 
how often it hath been heavy to my heart to think how 
much this scripture hath been fulfilled in my ministry. 
Frequently I have had an anxious desire to be removed by 
death, from being a plague to my poor congregation. 
Often, however, I have checked myself, and have consider- 
ed this wish as my folly, and begged of the Lord, that if 
it were not for his glory to remove me by death, he would 
make me successful in my work." 

Chap. vii. ver. 18. — The Lord shall hiss for the 
fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of 

Egypt. 

Vinisauf, speaking of the army under Richard I., a 
little before he left the Holy Land, and describing them as 
marching on the plain not far from the sea-coast, says, 
" The army stopping a while there, rejoicing in the hope 
of speedily setting out for Jerusalem, were assailed by a 
most minute kind of fly, flying about like sparks, which 
they called cincinellac. TTith these the whole neighbour- 
ing region round about was filled. These most wretchedly 
infested the pilgrims, piercing with great smartness the 
lands, necks, throats, foreheads, and faces, and every part 
that was uncovered, a most violent burning tumour follow- 
ing the punctures made by them, so that all that they stung 
looked like lepers." He adds, " That they could hardly 
guard themselves from this most troublesome vexation, by 
covering their heads and necks with veils." 

Chap. viii. ver. 21. — They shall fret themselves, 
and curse then king and then God, and look upward. 

General Burn, in describing the effects of a violent 
storm that assailed the vessel in which he was returning to 
England, off the coast of "Whitehaven, says, u As beings 
imagining they had but a few moments to live, all strove 
with dying eagerness to reach the quarter-deck, but we had 
scarcely raised ourselves upright when the ship struck a 
second time, more violently than before, and again threw 
us all prostrate. The scene was enough to make the heart 
of the stoutest sinner tremble. I very well remember the 
agony of one of my poor messmates. This man had ac- 
quired considerable property in Jamaica, and during the 
voyage, like the rich man in the parable, was frequently 



ISAIAH XI. 323 

devising plans of future happiness. At this awful mo- 
ment, he exclaimed bitterly against the treatment of hea- 
ven, that had made him spend so many toilsome years in 
a scorching and unhealthy climate to procure a little 
wealth ; and when with pain and trouble he had heaped it 
together, had tantalized him with a sight of the happy 
shore, where he expected peaceably to enjoy it; but now 
with one cruel sudden stroke, had defeated all his hopes. 
The cutting reflections and bitter complaints which came 
from this man's mouth, expressed such black despair, that 
he appeared more like a fiend of the bottomless pit, than a 
sinner yet in the land of hope." 

Chap. ix. ver. 13. — The people turneth not unto 
him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord 
of hosts. 

A christian friend visiting a good man under great dis- 
tress and afflicting dispensations, which he bore with such 
patient and composed resignation, as to make his friend 
wonder and admire it — inquired how he was enabled so to 
comfort himself? The good man said, " The distress I 
am under is indeed severe ; but I find it lightens the stroke 
very much, to creep near to him who handles the rod ;" 
adding, (C But where else, save in the religion of Christ, 
could such a sufferer find such a support !" 

Chap. x. ver. 15. — Shall the axe boast itself against 
him that heweth therewith ? or shall the saw mag- 
nify itself against him that shaketh it ? 

When Bonaparte was about to invade Russia, a person 
who had endeavoured to dissuade him from his purpose, 
finding he could not prevail, quoted to him the proverb, 
(C Man proposes, but God disposes ,*" to which he indig- 
nantly replied, " I dispose as well as propose." A chris- 
tian lady, on hearing the impious boast, remarked, " I set 
that down as the turning point of Bonaparte's fortunes. 
God will not suffer a creature with impunity thus to usurp 
his prerogative." It happened to Bonaparte just as the 
lady predicted. His invasion of Russia was the com- 
mencement of his fall. 

Chap. xi. ver. 9. — They shall not hurt or destroy 
in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full 



.324 ISAIAH XII. 

of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea. 

In the eleventh century, the effect of the gospel in Den- 
mark was such, as to prove at once its divine origin, and 
its benign tendency. Adam of Bremen, an historian, thus 
expresses it : — u Look at that very ferocious nation of the 
Danes ; for a long time they have been accustomed, in the 
praises of God, to resound Alleluia ! Look at that pira- 
tical people ; they are now content with the fruits of their 
own country. Look at that horrid region, formerly alto- 
gether inaccessible on account of idolatry ; now they eagerly 
admit the preacher of the word." — To refer to a more re- 
cent instance : the inhabitants of the South Sea are now 
professedly Christian, and improvement in their circum- 
stances keeps pace with that of their morals. Theft is 
almost unknown among them. Family prayer is set up in 
every house, and private prayer is almost universally at- 
tended to. The people look up to the missionaries as their 
oracle in all their troubles of body and mind, civil and reli- 
gious. They were once the cruel slaves of Satan, destroy- 
ing themselves and their infant offspring. Now, women 
are restored to their proper rank in society, a new genera- 
tion of young ones is springing up, beloved by their pa- 
rents ; and the face of things is wonderfully altered, so that 
we are constrained to say, " This is the Lord's doing, and 
it is marvellous in our eyes." 

Chap. xii. ver. 1. — In that clay thou shalt say, 
O Lord, I will praise thee : though thou wast angry 
with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou com- 
fortedst me. 

The late Rev. Thomas Scott, during his last illness, 
sometimes wanted that comfort which he usually enjoyed ; 
and though hope as to his final salvation generally predo- 
minated, yet he would say, ci Even one fear, where infinity 
is at stake, is sufficient to countervail all its consoling 
effects." Having received the Sacrament, at the conclu- 
sion of the service, he adopted the language of Simeon, 
i( Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for 
mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Through the remain- 
der of the day, and during the night, he continued in a 
very happy state of mind. To one who came in the even- 



ISAIAH XIV. 325 

ing, he said, " It was beneficial to me : I received Christ 
last night : I bless God for it." He then repeated, in the 
most emphatic manner, the whole twelfth chapter of Isaiah. 
The next morning he said, " This is heaven begun. I 
have done with darkness for ever — for ever, Satan is 
vanquished. Nothing now remains but salvation with 
eternal glory — eternal glory." 

Chap. xiii. ver. 20, 21. — It shall never be inhabit- 
ed, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to ge- 
neration; — But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; 
and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures. 

When Babylon was first deserted of its inhabitants, the 
Persian kings turned it into a park for hunting, and kept 
their wild beasts there. When the Persian empire de- 
clined, the beasts broke loose, so that, when Alexander the 
Great marched eastward, he found Babylon a perfect de- 
sert. He intended to restore Euphrates to its ancient 
channel, but the design not having been completed, the 
river overflowed its banks, and the greater part of that 
once celebrated city became a lake or pool of water. Theo- 
dorus, who lived about four hundred years after Christ, 
tells us, that Babylon was the receptacle cf snakes, ser- 
pents, and all sorts of noxious animals, so that it was dan- 
gerous to visit it. Benjamin of Toledo, a Jew, who visited 
it in J 112, informs us, that few remains of it were left, 
nor were there any inhabitants within many miles of it. 
Rawolffe, a German, who travelled to the east in 15/2, 
found it very difficult to discover the place on which it 
stood, nor could the neighbouring inhabitants give him 
proper directions. Mr Hanway, a later traveller, with 
every assistance that could be procured, spent several days 
in endeavouring to ascertain its situation, but in vain, so 
completely has it been swept, with the besom of destruc- 
tion, from the face of the earth. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 17. — That opened not the house of 
his prisoners ? 

Mr William Jenkyn, one of the ejected ministers in Eng- 
land, being imprisoned in Newgate, presented a petition to 
King Charles II. for a release, which was backed by an 
assurance from his physicians, that his life was in danger 
from his close imprisonment ; but no other answer could 



356 ISAIAH XVI. 

be obtained than this, a Jenkyn shall be a prisoner as long 
as he lives." — A nobleman having some time after heard 
of his death, said to the king, " May it please your Ma- 
jesty, Jenkyn has got his liberty." Upon which he asked, 
with eagerness, " Aye ! who gave it hiai ?" The noble- 
man replied, "A greater than your 3Iajesty — the King of 
kings ;" with which the king seemed greatly struck, and 
remained silent. 

Chap. XT. ver. 4. — Hesbon shall cry, and Elealeh ; 
their voice shall he heard even unto Jahaz. 

Sir John Chardin, giving an account of the Eastern la- 
mentations, says, '•' Their sentiments of joy, or of grief, are 
properly transports ; and their transports are ungoverned, 
excessive, and truly outrageous. When any one returns 
from a long journey, or dies, his family burst into cries, 
that may be heard twenty doors off ; and this is renewed at 
different times, and continues many days, according to the 
vigour of the passion. Especially are these cries long in 
the case of death, and frightful ; for the mourning is right- 
down despair, and an image of hell. I was lodged, in the 
year 1670, at Ispahan, near the Royal Square ; the mistress 
of the next house to mine died at that time. The moment 
she expired, all the family, to the number of twenty-five or 
thirty people, set up such a furious cry, that I was quite 
startled, and was above two hours before I could recover 
myself." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 4. — Let mine outcasts dwell with 
thee, Moab. 

Mr Philip Henry, one of the non-conformist ministers, 
when silenced from preaching, by the act of uniformity, 
took comfort himself, and administered comfort to others 
from the preceding passage. " God's people," he observed, 
" may be an outcast people, cast out of men's love, their 
synagogues, their country ; but God will own his people 
when men cast them out ; they are outcasts, but they are 
kis, and some way or other he will provide a dwelling for 
them." — Shortly before his death, the same pious man ob- 
served, that, though many of the ejected ministers were 
brought very low, had many children, were greatly harassed 
by persecution, and their friends generally poor and unable 
to support them ; yet, in all his acquaintance, he never 



ISAIAH XIX. 327 

knew, nor could remember to have heard of, any non-con- 
formist minister in prison for debt. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 7. — At that day shall a man look 
to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the 
Holy One of Israel. 

The Rev. Mr Charles had, at one time, the prospect of ob- 
taining a situation in North Wales, which he much wished ; 
but, as in a former instance, he eventually failed. The 
place appears to have been lost through the remissness of a 
friend, who was commissioned to treat for the situation. 
Ci If I had not, at that moment" says Mr C, " seen the 
hand of God in it, I should have been very angry indeed 

with Mr . Every thing is under the control of the 

all-wise God. To see and believe this, will make us per- 
fectly easy and resigned, even in the greatest disappoint- 
ments. Mow true it is, c that he that believeth hi Him, 
shall not be moved.* And what a blessed thing it is to ob- 
tain a firmness and stability which nothing can shake ; no, 
not even the wreck of nature." 

Chap, xviii. ver. 2.— That sendeth ambassadors 
by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the 
waters. 

u We went up the river Euphrates," says an eastern tra- 
veller, " this afternoon. Our boat was of a peculiar make. 
In shape it was like a large round basket ; the sides were of 
willow, covered over with bitumen, a sort of pitch ; the 
bottom was made with reeds ; it had two men with paddles, 
one of whom paddled toward him, and the other pushed 
from him. This sort of boat is common on the Euphrates, 
and may be of the same kind as the vessels of bulrushes 
upon the waters spoken of by Isaiah."" 

Chap. xix. ver. 20. — The Lord shall send them 
a Saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver 
them. 

The Rev. Mr Grimshawe stated, at a recen' meeting of 
the Religious Tract Society, that a few yearr ago lie met 
' with Mr fJolemeisfer, who had laboured among the Esqui- 
maux for thirty-four years, and had first translated the four 
Gospels into the Esquimaux language. Among a variety 
of interesting questions Mr Grimshawe put to him, he 



328 ISAIAH XX. 

thought that he would question him upon a point of some 
curiosity and difficulty, respecting his translation. Know- 
ing how imperfect barbarous languages are, and how inade- 
quate to express any abstract idea, Mr G. requested him to 
say how he translated the word Saviour in thie Gospel. Mr 
Colemeister said, " Your question is remarkable, and per- 
haps the answer may be so too. It is true the Esquimaux 
have no word to represent the Saviour, and I could never 
find out that they had any direct notion of such a friend. 
But 1 said to them, ( Does it not happen sometimes, when, 
you are out fishing, that a storm arises, and some of you 
are lost, and some saved ?' They said, ' O yes, very often.* 
— c But it also happens that you are in the water, and owe 
your safety to some brother or friend who stretches out his 
hand to help you ?' — c Very frequently.' — c Then what do 
you call that friend ?* They gave me in answer a word of 
their language, and I immediately wrote it against the term 
Saviour in Holy Writ, and ever after it was intelligible to 
them." 

Chap. xx. ver. 4. — The King of Assyria shall lead 
away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians 
captives, young and old, naked and barefoot. 

About a mile from the new town of St Nicholas, in 
Russia, Mr Howard, the philanthropist, inspected four 
rooms for sick recruits and prisoners of war. The number 
crowded into these rooms was upwards of three hundred, 
many of whom were extremely iU, and supplied with pro- 
visions of the worst quality. Going back to the town, ac- 
companied by the physician, and several officers, he found 
fifty objects of such extreme wretchedness, as, in the whole 
course of his extensive visits to the abodes of misery and 
vice he had never before seen together. Most of them were 
recruits, in the prime of life, many of whom were dying 
upon a bed of hard, coarse reeds, without linen or coverlids, 
or any thing to protect them but a few remnants of their old 
clothes ; their persons indescribably filthy, and their shirts 
in ra^s. After viewing other scenes of misery, he makes 
the following reflections : — " Let but a contemplative mind 
reflect a moment upon the condition of these poor destitute 
wretches, forced from their homes and all their dearest con- 
nections, and compare them with those one has seen, 
cheerful, clean, and happy, at a wedding or village festival ; 



ISAIAH XXII. 329 

— let them be viewed quitting their birth-place, with all 
their little wardrobe, and their pockets stored with rubles, 
the gifts of their relations, who never expect to see them 
more ; now joining their corps in a long march of one or 
two thousand wersts ; their money gone to the officer who 
conducts them, and defrauds them of the government allow- 
ance ; arriving fatigued and half-naked in a distant dreary 
country, and exposed immediately to military hardships, 
with harassed bodies, and dejected spirits ; and who can 
wonder that so many droop and die in a short time, without 
any apparent illness ? The devastations I have seen made 
by war among so many innocent people, and this in a 
country where there are such immense tracts of land unoc- 
cupied, are shocking to human nature." 

Chap. xxi. ver. 16. — Within a year according to 
the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar 
shall fail. 

w I remember," observes one, M having heard a sensible 
person say he could never covet the office of chief magis- 
trate of London, because that honour continued only one 
year. Might not the idea be justly extended to all the ho- 
nours and enjoyments of this life ? None of them are per- 
manent." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 12, 13. — In that day did the Lord 
God of hosts call to weeping, and to monrning, and 
to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth : — And 
behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing 
sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine : let lis eat and 
drink, for to-morrow we shall die. 

In the midst of the distresses with which France was ha- 
rassed in the reign of Charles VII., and whilst the English 
were in possession of Paris, Charles amused himself and his 
mistresses with balls aud entertainments. The brave La 
Here, coming to Charles one day to talk to him on some 
business of importance, whilst the luxurious Prince was 
occupied in arranging one of his parties of pleasure, was 
interrupted by the Monarch, who asked him what he thought 
of his arrangement. " I think, Sire," said he, " it is im- 
possible for any one to lose his kingdom more pleasantly 
than your Majesty." 

2 e 2 



330 ISAIAH xxr. 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 18. — Her merchandise and her 
hire shall he holiness to the Lord. 

Mr Fisk, in giving an acconnt of his missionary labours 
in Egypt, says, kt I have also become acquainted with the 
masters of several English merchant vessels, one of whom 
I learn has prayers daily with his men, and reads a sermon 
to them regularly on the Sabbath. Another has given me 
an interesting account of the ; Floating Ark,' for the sup- 
port of which he is a subscriber, and in which he attends 
worship when at London. This vessel, he says, was origi- 
nally a sixty-four gun ship, was purchased by a company of 
merchants in London, and application was then made to 
them by the Port of London Society, to obtain it as a place 
of worship for seamen. The merchants replied, c If you 
want it for that purpose, we make a donation of it ; if for 
any other object, we charge you £. 3000.' " 

Ch. xxiv. v. 15. — Glorify ye the Lord in the fires. 

Ann Meiglo, a poor distressed woman in the parish of 
Portmoak, when visited by Mr Ebenezer Erskine, said to 
him, u O, Sir, I am just lying here, a poor useless creature. " 
— u Think you," said he. " I think, Sir, what is true, if I 
were away to heaven, I would be of some use to glorify 
God without sin." — " Indeed, Annie," said Mr Erskine, 
u I think you are glorifying God by your resignation and 
submission to his will, and that in the face of many diffi- 
culties, and under many distresses. In heaven the saints 
have no burdens to groan under; your praises, burdened 
as you are, are more wonderful to me, and, I trust, accepta- 
ble to God." 

Chap. xxv. ver. 8. — He will swallow up death in 
victory. 

Mr Livingston, speaking of Josias Welsh, says, M On 
the Sabbath afternoon before his death, which was on Mon- 
day following, I heard of his sickness, and came to him 
about eleven o'clock at night, and Mr Blair about two hours 
thereafter. He had many gracious discoveries, as also some 
wrestling and exercise of mind. One time he cried out, 
1 O for hypocrisy !' on which Mr Blair said, ( See how Satan 
is nibbling at his heels before he enter into glory.' A very 
little before he died, being at prayer by his bedside, and 



ISAIAH XXVIII. 331 

the word 6 victory'coming out of my mouth, he took hold 
of my hand, and desiring me to forbear a little, and clap- 
ping his hands, cried out, * Victory, victory, victory, for 
evermore !' He then desired me to go on, and in a little ex- 
pired. His death happened on the 23d of June 1634." 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 19. — Thy dead men shall lire, 
together with my dead body shall they arise. 

A man in Scotland, who had some years before buried 
his wife, and several of his children, one day stood leaning 
over a low wall, intently gazing on the spot in the church- 
yard, where he had deposited their dear remains. A per- 
son observing his thoughtful attitude, asked him what occu- 
pied his mind ? u I am looking," he said, " at the dust 
that lies there, and wondering at the indissoluble union be- 
twixt it and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is in glory." 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 5. — Let him take hold of my 
strength, that he may make peace with me ; and he 
shall make peace with me. 

" I think," says one, " I can convey the meaning of this 
passage, so that every one may understand it, by what took 
place in my own family within these few days. One of my 
little children had committed a fault, for which I thought 
it my duty to chastise him. I called him to me, explained 
to him the evil of what he had done, and told him how 
grieved I was that I must punish him for it. He heard 
me in silence, and then rushed into my arms, and burst 
into tears. I could sooner have cut off my arm than have 
then struck him for his fault : he had taken hold of my 
strength, also he had made peace with me." 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 9. — Whom shall he teach know- 
ledge ? and whom shall he make to understand doc- 
trine? them that are weaned from the milk, and 
drawn from the breasts. 

A venerable old minister, in New Hampshire, lodging 
at the house of a pious friend, observed the mother teach- 
ing some short prayers and hymns to her children, " Ma- 
dam," said he, " your instructions may be of far more im- 
portance than you are aware : my mother taught me a little 
hymn when a child, and it is of use to me to this day. I 
never close my eyes to rest, without first saying— 



532 ISAIAH XXXI. 

' Now I lay me down to sleep, 

I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep ; 

If I should die before I wake, 

1 pray thee, Lord, my soul to take."' 

Ch. xxix. ver. 8. — As when a thirsty man dream - 
eth, and behold, he drinketh ; but he awaketh, and, 
behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite. 

Mr Park, speaking of the great want of water in Africa, 
says, ft I frequently passed the night in the situation of 
Tantalus. No sooner had I shut my eyes, than fancy would 
convey me to the streams and rivers of my native land ; 
there, as I wandered along the verdant bank, I surveyed 
the clear stream with transport, and hastened to swallow 
thedelightful draught ; but, alas ! disappointment awakened 
me, and I found myself a lonely captive perishing of thirst, 
amidst the wilds of Africa." 

Chap. xx. ver. 10. — Prophesy not unto us right 
things ; speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits. 

A dissenting minister, preaching very practically, was 
found fault with by his people, who gave him to understand 
that they must part with him, if he did not alter the strain 
of his preaching. The minister, having a family, shrunk 
for a time, but it preyed upon his health, which his wife 
observing, plainly told him that he distrusted God out of 
fear of man, and was unfaithful ; and begged of him to 
preach according to his conscience, and leave the event to 
God. Accordingly he did so, and was expelled. But just 
at that time, a larger meeting, with a better salary, and a 
more lively people, being vacant, he was invited thither, 
and settled among them ; lived in plenty, and preached 
with acceptance and usefulness, till removed by death. 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 4. — The lion and the young lion 
roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds 
is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of 
their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them. 

An instance of the courage of the lion is related in the 
account of one who had broken into a walled enclosure for 
cattle. The people of the farm, with the intention of de- 
stroying him on his return, stretched a rope across the 
entrance, to which several guns were fastened in a direction 
to discharge their contents into his body, so soon as he 



ISAIAH XXXII. $33 

should push against the cord with his breast. But the lion 
approached the rope, and struck it away with his foot; and 
without showing any alarm, in consequence of the reports 
of the guns, he went fearlessly on, and devoured the prey 
he had before left untouched. 

Chap, xxxii. ver. 2. — A man shall he as an hiding- 
place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest ; 
as rivers of water in a dry place ; as the shadow of a 
great rock in a weary land. 

A pious minister, some years ago, being called upon to 
preach a sermon for the benefit of a Sabbath School in 
Northamptonshire, was led to enlarge in his discourse on 
the necessity of being clothed with the Redeemer's righ- 
teousness, as the only means of security from the wrath to 
come. While speaking, a violent storm of thunder and 
lightning came on, accompanied with rain and hail. The 
lightning struck a tree in the church-yard, shivered it to 
pieces, and drove a part of it through one of the windows. 
The congregation, alarmed, began to fly for safety in all 
directions. The minister entreated them to remain in the 
house of God; reminding them, that if they were pro- 
tected from their sins by the righteousness of Christ, let 
storms, lightnings, or even death come, they were perfectly 
safe. In pursuing his discourse, his attention was attracted 
to one of the Sabbath school girls, who was standing near 
the pulpit, and who appeared to be peculiarly impressed by 
the sermon. Calling at her parent's house next day, the 
mother told him that her daughter had met with a disap- 
pointment, as she expected to go to the fair that day ; but 
a circumstance had occurred that would prevent her. 
" What, my dear," said the minister, " are you fond of 
going to fairs ?" The child immediately replied, " O no, 
Sir ; I don't want to go to the fair ; I now only want to be 
clothed in that robe of righteousness which you were speak- 
ing of yesterday, that I may see Jesus Christ." The 
minister entered into conversation with her, and found her 
mind so deeply impressed, that he had good reason to be- 
lieve that a saving change was wrought on her soul. He 
left her, intending to repeat his visit next day, but received 
information of hex death ; having been found dead in the 
garden. 



334i ISAIAH XXXIV. 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 15. — That shaketh his hands 
from holding of bribes. 

The borough of Hull, in the reign of Charles II. chose 
Andrew Marvell, a young gentleman of little or no fortune, 
and maintained him in London for the service of the pub- 
lic. His understanding, integrity, and spirit, were dread- 
ful to the then infamous administration. Persuaded he 
would be theirs, if properly asked, they sent his old school- 
fellow, the lord treasurer Dauby, to renew acquaintance 
with him in his garret. At parting, the lord treasurer 
slipped into his hand L. 1000, and then went to his chariot. 
Marvel], looking at the paper, called after the Treasurer, 
" My Lord, I request another moment." They went up 
again to the garret, and the servant boy was called, " I 
ask, child, what had I for dinner yesterday?" " Don't 
you remember, Sir, you had the little shoulder of mutton 
that you ordered me to bring from a woman in the market." 
fc Very right, child. What have I for dinner to-day ?" 
" Don't you know, Sir, that you bid me lay by the blade- 
bone to broil ?" " It is so ; very right, child, go away." 
My Lord, do you hear that ? Andrew Marvell's dinner 
is provided ; there is your piece of paper, I want it not ; I 
know the sort of kindness you intended ; I live here to 
serve my constituents, the ministry may seek men for their 
purpose ; I am not one." 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 11. — The raven shall dwell in it. 

In the centre of a grove near Shelbourne, there stood an 
oak, which, though on the whole shapely and tall, jutted 
out to a great excrescence near the middle of the stem. On 
this tree a pair of ravens had made their nest for so many 
years, that it was called the tf Raven-tree." Many attempts 
had been made to reach the nest ; but when the climbers 
arrived at the swelling, it jutted out so in their way. and 
was so far beyond their grasp, that the boldest were defeat- 
ed. Thus the birds continued to build unmolested, till the 
fatal day on which the tree was to be levelled. This was 
in the month of February, when these birds usually sit. 
The saw was applied to the trunk. The wedges were in- 
serted into the opening, the woods echoed with the heavy 
sound of the axe and the mallet, and the tree nodded to its 
fall ; but still the dam persisted in sitting. At last, when 
it gave way, the bird was flung from the nest, and though 



ISAIAH XXXVI. 835 

her parental affection deserved a better fate, was whipped 
down by the twigs, which brought her dead to the ground. 

Chap. xxxv. ver. 10. — They shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 

During the last illness of the Rev. John Willison of 
Dundee, he was visited by Mr Ralph Erskine ; and while 
conversing together on the happiness of the better country, 
where the saints are perfect in knowledge and in love, a 
pious lady present, who was warmly attached to the na- 
tional church, addressed Mr Erskine in these words, " Aye, 
Sir, there will be no Secession in heaven/' " O, Ma- 
dam," he instantly replied, " you are under a mistake ; 
for in heaven there will be a complete secession from all sin 
aud sorrow." " With pleasure," said Mr Willison, " do 
I adopt that view of Secession." 

Chap, xxxvi. ver. 13. — Rabshakeh stood, and cried 
with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, 
Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of 
Assyria, &c. 

In the reign of king James II., Mr Baxter was commit- 
ted prisoner to the King's Bench, by the warrant of Lord 
Chief- Justice Jefreries, for some alleged seditious passages 
in his Paraphrase on the New Testament. When brought 
to his trial, being very much indisposed, he moved, by his 
counsel, for further time ; but the judge cried out in a 
passion : " I will not give him a minute's time to save his 
life : we have had to deal with other sorts of persons, but 
now we have a saint to deal with. I know how to deal 
with saints as well as sinners. Yonder stands Oates in the 
pillory, and he says he suffers for truth, and so says Bax- 
ter ; but if Baxter did but stand on the other side of the 
pillory with him, I would say, two of the greatest rogues 
and rascals in the kingdom stood there !" Mr Baxter, be- 
ginning to speak for himself, Jefferies said to him, " Rich- 
ard, Richard, dost thou think we will hear thee poison the 
court ? Richard, thou art an old fellow, an old knave ; 
thou hast written books enow to fill a cart, every one as full 
of sedition, I may say treason, as an egg is full of meat. 
Hadst thou been whipt out of thy writing trade forty years 
ago, it had been happy. I know thou hast a mighty party, 
and I see a gteat many of the brotherhood in corners, to 



350 ISAIAH XXXVIII. 

see what will become of their mighty Don, and a Doctor of 
the party — meaning Dr Bates — at your elbow ; but by the 
grace of Almighty God, I'll crush them all." After far- 
ther mockery and insult from this blustering judge, 31 r 
Baxter was condemned to pay a heavy fine, and to remain 
in prison till it was paid. He continued in prison two 
years, when, from a change of measures, he was set at 
liberty. 

Chap, xxxvii. ver. 19. — And have cast their gods 
into the fire : for they were no gods, but the works 
of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they have 
destroyed them. 

In a letter written by a French Jesuit, about a hundred 
years ago, it is stated, that at a place several leagues west- 
ward of 3Iadras, some masons, who had embraced Christi- 
anity, w r ere employed by a Brahmin, to repair the embank- 
ment of a reservoir of water. It is customary among the 
Hindoos, to place in such situations a number of small idols 
made of stone. These the workmen designedly buried in 
the earth which they threw up to strengthen the embank- 
ment. The Brahmin coming to inspect their progress, 
said, <c I see nothing of our gods ; what have you done 
with them ?" (i What is it you mean, Sir ?" replied the 
overseer ; u I saw a heap of stones, which 1 thought would 
be of use to strengthen the embankment ; but as for gods, 
I saw nothing of the kind." " Those were the things you 
ought to have taken care of, 4 ' said the Brahmin ; " did you 
not know they were our gods ?" " Those things," an- 
swered the overseer, " I understand as well as any body ; 
it is my business to do so ; and, take my word for it, Sir, 
they were nothing but stones : if they were gods, as you say 
they are, they could easily get up again into their old places. M 

Chap, xxxviii. ver. 5. — I have heard thy prayer, 
I have seen thy tears : behold, I will add unto thy 
days fifteen yeai s. 

In the autumn of 1700, the late Rev. T. Charles, of 
Bala, met with an afflicting dispensation. While travel- 
ling over Mount Migneint, in Carnarvonshire, on a freez- 
ing night, one of his thumbs became frost-bitten. It was 
so severely affected, that he was taken very ill, and his life 
was in danger. To prevent' mortification, it was deemed 



ISAIAH XXXIX. Sol 

necessary to have it amputated. This affliction was very 
trying, both to his family and to his people. When he 
was considered to be in a dangerous state, a special prayer- 
meeting was called by the members of the chapel at Bala. 
Fervent supplications were offered up in his behalf. Seve- 
ral prayed on the occasion ; and one person in particular 
was much noticed at the time, for the very urgent and im- 
portunate manner with which he prayed. Alluding to the 
fifteen years added to Hezekiah's life, he, with unusual 
fervency, entreated the Almighty to spare Mr C.'s life at 
least fifteen years. He several times repeated the following 
words, with such melting importunity, as greatly affected 
all present : — " Fifteen years more, O Lord ; we beseech 
thee to add fifteen years more to the life of thy servant. 
And wilt thou not, O our God, give fifteen years more for 
the sake of thy church and thy cause ?" Mr C. heard of 
this prayer, and it made a deep impression on his mind. 
He afterwards frequently mentioned it as a reason why he 
should make the best use of his time, saying, that his fif- 
teen years would soon be completed. The last time that 
he visited South Wales, and was asked when he should 
come again, his answer was, at least to some, that his fif- 
teen years were nearly up, and that he should probably 
never visit them again. He mentioned this to several of 
his friends the last year of his life, and especially to his 
wife. It is remarkable, his death occurred just at the ter- 
mination of the fifteen years. What is not less remarkable, 
it was during this time that he performed the most impor- 
tant acts of his life. It was during this time that he wrote 
the most valuable of his works ; established Sabbath schools; 
was one means of originating the Bible Society ; and was in- 
strumental in doing great good both to Scotland and Ireland. 

Chap, xxxix. ver. 8. — There shall be peace and 
truth in my days. 

" I well remember," says Dr Gibbons, " that discours- 
ing with the late Sir Conyers Jocelyn, about Mr Baxter 
and Dr Watts, he pleasantly but very truly observed, nearly 
in these words, that ' The latter went to heaven on a bed of 
down, in comparison of the former.' Such was the dis- 
tinguishing privilege with which this holy man was favour- 
ed, not only to his own great comfort, but to the great be- 
nefit of the church and the world, who might, had his 
2r 



338 ISAIAH XLIL 

feeble frame been hunted down by persecution, or locked 
up in a damp suffocating prison, have been deprived, in a 
great measure, of his numerous and useful writings." 

Chap. xl. ver. 18.— -To whom then will ye liken 
God ? or what likeness will ye compare unto him ? 

One day, when Mr Richards, missionary in India, was 
conversing with the natives, a Fakeer came up, and put 
into his hand a small stone about the size of a sixpence, 
with the impression of two human likenesses sculptured on 
the surface ; he also proffered a few grains of rice, and said, 
" This is Mahadeo." Mr Richards said, " Do you know 
the meaning of Mahadeo ?.V The Fakeer replied, u No." 
Mr R. proceeded, u Mahadeo means the Great God — He 
who is God of gods, and besides whom there can be no 
other. Now, this Great God is a Spirit ; no one can see a 
spirit, who is intangible. Whence, then, this visible im- 
pression on a senseless, hard, immoveable stone ? To whom 
will ye liken God ? or what likeness will ye compare unto 
Him ? God is the high and lofty One that inhabiteth 
eternity, whose name is Holy. He hath said, c I am Jeho- 
vah ; there is no God besides me.' " The poor Fakeer 
was serious, respectful, and attentive ; continually exclaim- 
ing, u Your words are true." 

Ch. xli. v. 10. — Fear thou not ; for I am with thee. 
One Sabbath, lately, Mr Winder, at Edgeworth-moor, 
near Bolton, was preaching from the preceding text. He 
commented on the fear of death, which solemn subject had 
been suggested by the awfulness of the thunder storm which 
then hung over the place. The preacher was supposing the 
possibility that in this storm, some one or more present 
might be struck dead. The words had just escaped his 
lips, when the lightning broke upon the house, shattering 
or removing some of the materials of the building, and 
producing great consternation and disorder in the assembly. 
No serious injury, however, was done, and after some de- 
gree of composure was attained, the congregation sung, 
" Praise God, from whom all blessings flow," and prayed, 
as it may be supposed, with much devotional fervour. 

Chap. xlii. ver. 10. — Sing unto the Lord a new 
song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye 
that go down to the sea, and all that is therein. 



ISAIAH xliv. 3Sf) 

- A young sailor observed to a gentleman that he should 
never forget the thrill of joy that he felt during his last 
voyage. One night, or rather early in the morning, a fine 
star-light morning, as they were running down the trades, 
with the sea smooth as oil, more than two thousand miles 
from land, and at that time, as he thought, equally far from 
any vessel upon the vast Atlantic, he started from his mo- 
notonous pacing fore and aft upon the deck, by a sound 
like a burst of voices ; he at first conceived it to be the 
dying echoes of a fired cannon, probably some vessel in dis- 
tress. Again he heard it in loud and distinct sounds, and 
found, at length, it was the harmony of voices, singing, as 
he judged from the tune, one of the hymns used at the 
Bethel prayer-meetings. The voices evidently were at a 
great distance, but, borne ever the wide space of the water, 
reached in soft and pleasing music, and caused him to feel 
a joyful recollection of the song heard by the shepherds, 
whilst watching their flocks by night in the fields of Beth- 
lehem. When the morning opened upon them, an Eng- 
lish ship was observed to the westward. " Sir/' said he, 
" I can give you no idea of my gladness in anticipating 
that the day was coming, and now opened upon us like the 
morning, when every ship should be navigated by men 
fearing God, and working righteousness." 

Chap, xliii. ver. 7. — I have created him for my 
glory. 

Mr John Thomson, a pious merchant in Musselburgh, 
and father-in-law to the Rev. John Brown of Haddington, 
used to relate, that in his eleventh year, when he was walk- 
ing one Sabbath morning to public worship in the church 
at Abbotshall, he was arrested by the importance of the 
first question in the Shorter Catechism, M What is the chief 
end of man ?" This led him into a train of inquiry, which 
was the means, in the hand of the Spirit of God, of making 
him acquainted with the present fallen and guilty state of 
man, and of the only method of recovery, through the 
mercy of God, by the righteousness of Christ. 

Chap. xliv. ver. 0. — They that make a graven 
image are all of them vanity ; and their delectable 
things shall not profit. 

One day, a missionary among the Gentoos, took with 



340 ISAIAH XLVII. 

him a little boy from the school, to a shady place, where 
many people were passing, and set him to read aloud.— 
Wben some began to listen, he conversed with the boy 
about what he was reading. .The subject was — the absur- 
dity of idolatry ; and a Brahmin in the crowd said, " My 
little fellow, w T hy do you speak so lightly of the gods of 
your fathers ?" The boy replied in a loud voice, " Speak 
lightly of them ! Why, they have eyes, and see not ; 
they have mouths, and speak not ; they have ears, and hear 
not ; they are vanity and a lie ; and why not speak lightly 
of them ?" The Brahmin walked away confounded. 

Chap. xlv. ver. 22. — Look unto me, and be ye 
saved, all the ends of the earth ; for I am God, and 
there is none else. 

When the Rev. Andrew Fuller first visited Scotland, a 
notoriously wicked and abandoned woman, seeing a num- 
ber of persons thronging the doors of a chapel, felt her cu- 
riosity awakened, and being informed that an Englishman 
was to preach, she mingled with the crowd, and entered the 
place. Mr Fuller took the preceding passage for his text. 
u What, then/' she exclaimed in her heart, " surely there 
is hope even for me ! Wretch as I am, I am not beyond 
the ends of the earth." She listened with eager delight, 
while the good man proclaimed the free salvation of the 
gospel. Hope sprung up in her heart, a hope which pun- 
tied as well as comforted ; and the grace of God taught her 
to w deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live so- 
berly, righteously, and godly, in the present world." 

Ch. xlvi. ver. 4. — Even to your old age, I am he. 

A friend conversing with the late Mr Brown of Had- 
dington, about a sermon which Mr B. had preached on 
these words, c: Even to your old age, I am he," he observed 
that he remembered discoursing on this text ; and then 
added, with a sort of cheerfulness, " I must say, that I 
never yet found God to break his word in this ; no, not- 
withstanding all the provocations which I have given him." 

Chap. xlvh. ver. 1. — Come down, and sit in the 
dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon ; and sit on the 
ground : there is no throne, O daughter of the Chal- 
deans. 



ISAIAH XLTX. 341 

A medal was struck by Vespasian on the subjugation of 
the Jews : on the reverse i3 seen a palm-tree, and a woman 
sitting on the ground at the foot of it, with her head lean- 
ing on her arm, weeping ; and at her feet different pieces 
of armour, with this legend, " Judea capta," (taken.) 
Thus was exactly fulfilled the saying of the same prophet, 
f< And she, being desolate, shall sit upon the ground." 

Chap, xlviii. ver. 10. — I have chosen thee in the 
furnace of affliction. 

A young man, who lived on Rowley Common, Kent, and 
had been a very profligate character, while working as a 
mason, fell from a scaffolding twenty feet high, and was 
seriously injured. Both his legs were broken, and several 
of his ribs, and his spine was injured. He lay long on the 
bed of affliction, when he was visited by a clergyman. He 
felt deep convictions of sin, but was ignorant of the way of 
salvation : this was explained to him ; he received with 
eagerness the news of pardon through the atonement of 
Christ, and was enabled to commit his soul into the Re- 
deemer's hands. His nurse said, " When I went to him 
first, he was such an impatient, wicked-tempered man, that 
it was impossible to live with him ; but a gentleman came 
to read the Bible to him for some days, and after that he 
became like a child, so that it grieved my heart to leave 
him." On his sick.bed he learned to read and write, and 
his efforts were blessed to the conversion of his sister. He 
died in peace. 

Chap. xlix. ver. 23. — And kings shall he thy nurs- 
ing fathers. 

Mr Leifchild was one of a deputation from the three de- 
nominations of dissenting ministers in London, who waited 
on his late majesty, George IV. with an address on his ac- 
cession to the throne, and were most graciously received. 
The address alluded to the happiness and protection they 
enjoyed under the fostering care and parental sway of his 
beloved and revered father, and expressed an humble but 
earnest hope, that he would imitate his example, and follow 
his step5. After his majesty had read the written answer, 
and before they took leave, one of the deputation said, they 
feared they had occasioned his majesty too much trouble : 
when the king said, " You give me no trouble, my friends ; 
2r'J 



342 ISAIAH LIT. 

I derive the most heartfelt satisfaction and pleasure from 
your excellent address. It will be the endeavour of my 
life to imitate the example of my beloved father ; and be 
assured, while I sway the sceptre of these realms, there 
shall not be the smallest bar to the freest religious tolera- 
tion." 

Chap. 1. ver. 6. — I gave my back to the smiters, 
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair : I 
hid not my face from shame and spitting. 

Mr Hanway, in his Travels, has recorded a scene very 
much resembling that alluded to by the prophet i — " A pri- 
soner was brought, who had two large logs of wood fitted 
to the small of his leg, and rivetted together ; there was also 
a heavy triangular collar of wood about his neck. The 
general asked me if that man had taken my goods. I told 
him I did not remember to have seen him before. He was 
questioned some time, and at length ordered to be beaten 
with sticks, which was performed by two soldiers with such 
severity, as if they meant to kill him. The soldiers were 
then ordered to spit in his face, an indignity of great anti- 
quity in the East. This, and the cutting of beards, which 
I shall have occasion to mention, brought to my mind the 
sufferings recorded in the prophetical history of our Savi- 
our, Isaiah I. 6." 

Chap. li. ver. 7. — Fear ye not the reproach of men, 
neither he ye afraid of their revilings. 

A poor man, who had heard the preaching of the gospel, 
and to whom it had been greatly blessed, was the subject of 
much profane jesting and ridicule among his fellow-work- 
men and neighbours. On being asked if these daily per- 
secutions did not sometimes make him ready to give up his 
profession of attachment to divine truth, he replied, " No ! 
I recollect that our good minister once said in his sermon, 
that if we were so foolish as to permit such people to laugh 
us out of our religion, till at last we dropped into hell, they 
could not laugh us out again." 

Chap. lii. ver. 11. — Touch no unclean thing ; go 
ye out of the midst of her ; be ye clean, that bear 
the vessels of the Lord. 

A little girl, between four and five years of age, on her 



ISAIAH LIV. 84S 

Teturn from hearing a preacher whom she much loved, said 
to her mother, " Mother, I can tell you a little of Mr H.'s 
sermon : he said, ' Touch not the unclean thing.* " Her 
mother, with a view to try if she understood the meaning 
of these words, replied, " Then, if Mr H. said so, I hope 
you will take care not to touch things that are dirty, in fu- 
ture." The little girl smiled, and answered, " O, mother, 
I know very well what he meant." " What did he mean ?*' 
said her mother. '* He meant sin, to be sure," said the 
child ; " and it is all the same as if Mr H. had said, 
4 You must not tell lies, nor do what your mother forbids 
you to do, nor play on Sunday, nor be cross,' nor do any 
such things as these, mother.'" 

Chap. liii. ver. 5. — He was wounded for our trans- 
gressions, lie was bruised for our iniquities. 

The late Rev. William Shrubsole of Sheerness, one ho- 
liday, casually took up a folio volume, written by Isaac 
Ambrose. He opened it, and began to read that part of it 
which treats of " Looking to Jesus," as carrying on the 
work of man's salvation in his death. He was much af- 
fected at the relation of the sufferings of Christ, and sensi- 
bly interested at the inquiry which the author makes, — 
Who were the persons that brought the Divine Sufferer 
into so much distress ? "I was convinced," he said, 
" that I was deeply concerned in that horrid transaction ; 
and from this time I date the Lord first penetrated my dark 
mind with the dawn of heavenly light and salvation." 

Chap. liv. ver. 7, 8. — For a small moment have I 
forsaken thee ; but with great mercies will I gather 
thee. 

Mr White, on the power of godliness, says, " A precious 
holy man told me of a woman that was six years in deser- 
tion ; and, by God's providence, hearing Mr Rollock 
preach, she of a sudden fell down, overwhelmed with joy, 
crying out, < O, he is come, whom my soul loveth !' and so 
was carried home for dead : and for divers days after, she 
was filled with exceeding joys, and had such pious and sin- 
gularly ravishing expressions, so fluently coming from her, 
that many came to hear the rare manifestations of God's 
grace in her ; and amongst the rest that went to hear, there 
was one that could write short-hand, who yet a great while 



314« ISAIAH LYII. 

stood so amazed at her expressions, that he could not write ; 
at last, recovering himself, he wrote a whole sheet of pa- 
per ; which this minister read, and told me, that of all 
the expressions that ever he read in the book of martyrs, or 
elsewhere, he never read any so high as the lowest of 
them." 

Chap. It. ver. 6. — Seek ye the Lord while he may 
he found, call ye upon him while he is near. 

A young man, on whom sentence of death was passed, 
said, two days before his execution, 4f I am afraid that no- 
thing but the fear of death and hell makes me seek the 
Saviour now, and that I cannot expect to find him. The 
words, ( Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,' trouble 
my mind very much, as they show me that there is a time 
when he may not be found." 

Chap. Ivi. ver. 2. — Blessed is the man — that keep- 
eth the Sabbath from polluting it. 

A gentleman, who had been using the boat of Thomas 
Mann, a pious waterman on the Thames, asked him if he 
did not make seven days in a week ? " No, Sir," replied 
Thomas ; u I hope 1 know better than to do that. That 
would be taking what does not belong to me. The Lord's 
day is not mine ; and therefore I never work on that day." 

Chap. lvh. ver. 15. — I dwell in the high and holy 
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble 
spiiit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to re- 
vive the heart of the contrite ones. 

At one time, when Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine both 
preached on the Monday after the celebration of the Lord's 
Supper at Glasgow, the former delivered an excellent dis- 
course, with his accustomed animation and dignity, while 
the latter fell considerably short of his usual fluency and 
fervour. Shortly after the close of the worship, when the 
two brothers had an opportunity of conversing privately to- 
gether, Ebenezer gently intimated to Ralph, that it ap- 
peared to him, the sermon he had preached that day, was 
not so substantial and interesting as usual ; on which Ralph 
made a reply to this effect ; " True, brother ; bat if my 
poor sermon humble me, perhaps I shall reap greater ad- 
vantage from it, than you from your great sermon." 



ISAIAH LX. S4Z5 

• Chap, lviii. ver. 1. — Cry aloud, spare not; lift 
up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people 
their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 

The energy of the Rev. Rowland Hill's manner at times, 
and the power of his voice, were almost overwhelming. 
Once, at Wotton, he was completely carried away by the 
impetuous rush of his feelings, and, raising himself to his 
full stature, he exclaimed, " Because I am in earnest, 
men call me enthusiast ; but I am not ; mine are the words 
of truth and soberness. When I first came into this part 
of the country, I was walking on yonder hill ; I saw a 
gravel pit fall in, and bury three human beings alive. I 
lifted up my voice for help so loud, that I was heard in 
the town below, at a distance of a mile ; help came, and 
rescued two of the poor sufferers. No one called me an 
enthusiast then ; and when I see eternal destruction ready 
to fall upon poor sinners, and about to entomb them irre- 
coverably in an eternal mass of woe, and call aloud to them 
to escape, shall I be called an enthusiast now ? No, sin- 
ner, I am not an enthusiast in so doing ; I call on thee 
aloud to fly for refuge to the hope set before thee in the 
gospel of Jesus Christ.' ' 

Chap. lix. ver. 21. — My words which I have put 
in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, 
nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the 
mouth of thy seed's seed. 

Mr Philip Henry, in a sermon preached in 1G59, men- 
tioned it as the practice of a worthy gentleman, that, in 
renewing his leases, instead of making it a condition that 
his tenants should keep a hawk or a dog for him, he oblig- 
ed them that they should keep a Bible in their houses for 
themselves, and should bring up their children to learn to 
read, and to be catechized. " This," said the gentleman, 
" will be no charge to you, and it may oblige them to that 
which otherwise they would neglect." 

Chap. lx. ver. 20.— Thy sun shall no more go 
down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself : for 
the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the 
days of thy mourning shall he ended. 

The narrator of the loss of the Kent remarks, " Some of 



346 ISAIAH LXII. 

the soldiers near me having remarked that the sun was set- 
ting, I looked round, and never can I forget the feelings 
with which I regarded his declining rays. I had previ- 
ously felt deeply impressed with the conviction that the 
ocean was to be my bed that night ; and had, I imagined, 
sufficiently realized to my mind, both the last struggles 
and the consequences of death. But as I continued so- 
lemnly watching the departing beams of the sun, the 
thought that it was really the very last I should ever be- 
hold, gradually expanded into reflections, the most tre- 
mendous in their import. It was not, I am persuaded, 
either the retrospect of a most unprofitable life, or the di- 
rect fear of death, or of judgment, that occupied my mind 
at the period I allude to ; but a broad, illimitable view of 
eternity itself. I know not whither the thought would 
have hurried me, had I not speedily seized, as with the 
grasp of death, on some of those sweet promises of the 
gospel, which give to an immortal existence its only charms ; 
and that naturally enough led back my thoughts, by means 
of the brilliant object before me, to the contemplation of 
that E blessed city, which hath no need of the sun, neither 
of the moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God doth 
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.' " 

Chap. lxi. ver. 1. — The Lord hath anointed me to 
preach good tidings unto the meek : he hath sent mo 
to bind up the broken-hearted. 

During a time of great awakening in America, through 
the instrumentality of 31r Whitefield, Mr Rowland, a truly 
pious and eloquent man, being invited to preach in the 
Baptist church of Philadelphia, proclaimed the terrors of 
the divine law with such energy to those whose souls were 
already sinking under them, that not a few fainted away. 
His error, however, was publicly corrected by the Rev. 
Gilbert Tennent, who, standing at the foot of the pulpit, 
and seeing the effect produced on the assembly, interrupted 
and arrested the preacher by this address : — u Brother 
Rowland, is there no balm in Gilead ?— is there no physi- 
cian there ? M Mr Rowland, on this, immediately changed 
the tenor of his address, and sought to direct to the Saviour 
those who were overwhelmed with a sense of their guilt." 

Chap. lxii. ver. 6. — I have set watchmen upon 






ISAIAH LXIV. 347 

thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their 
peace day nor night : ye that make mention of th© 
Lord, keep not silence. 

" Those people," says one, " are in the road to ruin, who 
say to their ministers, as the Jews did of old to their pro- 
phets — ( Prophesy not ;' or what amounts to the same 
thing, ( speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.' I 
well remember having read in an ancient author, the fol- 
lowing remarkable and appropriate account : — t News came 
to a certain town, once and again, that the enemy was ap- 
proaching ; but he did not then approach. Hereupon in 
anger the inhabitants enacted a law, that no man, on pain 
of death, should bring again such rumours, as the news of 
an enemy. Not long after, the enemy came, indeed ; be- 
sieged, assaulted, and sacked the town, of the ruins of which 
nothing remained, but this proverbial epitaph — Here once 
stood a town that was destroyed by silence." 

Chap, lxiii. ver. 16. — Doubtless thou art our Fa- 
ther. 

" I have been told of a good man," says Mr M. Henry, 
" among whose experiences, which he kept a record of, 
after his death, this, among other things, was found, that 
such a time in secret prayer, his heart, at the beginning of 
the duty, was much enlarged, in giving to God those titles 
which are awful and tremendous, in calling him the great, 
the mighty, and the terrible God ; but going on thus, he 
checked Trim self with this thought, c And why not my Fa- 
ther ?' " 

Chap. lxiv. ver. 8. — We are the clay, and thou our 
potter. 

During the siege of Barcelona by the Spaniards and 
English in the war of the succession, in 1705, an affecting 
incident occurred, which is thus related by Captain Carle- 
ton in his memoirs. " I remember I saw an old officer, 
having his only son with him, a fine man about twenty 
years of age, going into the tent to dine. Whilst they were 
at dinner, a shot from the Bastion of St Antonio took off 
the head of his son. The father immediately rose up, first 
looking down upon his headless child, and then lifting up 
his eyes to heaven, whilst the tears ran down his cheeks, 
only said, Thy will be done*" 



3k$ JEREMIAH I. 

Chap. lxv. ver. 25. — I am found of them that 
sought me not. 

Mr Whitefield relates, in one of his sermons, the conver- 
sion of a Mr Crane, who was afterwards appointed steward 
of the Orphan-House in Georgia. Being determined to 
spend an evening at the play-house, he went first to Drury- 
Lane, but the house being quite full, he resolved to go to 
Covent-Garden ; having got thither, he found that house 
full also, so that he could not gain admittance. He was 
determined, however, to get entertainment some way or 
other ; and therefore set off to hear Mr Whitefield. It 
pleased God to apply the sermon with power to his heart, 
and render it effectual to his conversion ; the reality of 
which appeared in the fruits of a holy life. 

Chap. lxvi. ver. 23. — From one Sabbath to an- 
other, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith 
the Lord. 

Mr Thomas Hawkes, a respectable and pious tradesman 
in London, when about to go to church one Lord's day, 
was sent for, to attend on a person of high rank, about some 
worldly affairs. Mr H. expressed his surprise to the groom, 
and asked him if he knew what day it was, and intimated 
that the message must certainly refer to the next day. The 
groom assured him that was not the case ; but that his 
master must see him immediately. He then desired the 
groom to present his duty to the distinguished personage, 
and inform him that, he always made a point of attending 
the worship of God on that day ; but that he would wait 
on the illustrious individual next morning ; which accord- 
ingly he did, and was received with wonted civility. 



JEREMIAH. 



Chap. i. ver. 8. — Be not afraid of their faces : for 
I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 

Mr Maurice, one of the non -conformist ministers in 
Shropshire, experienced many remarkable deliverances in 
the providence of God, when in danger of being appre« 



JKHEMIAH lit. 34$ 

hended by his enemies after his ejection. A t one time, a 
constable found him preaching, and commanded him to 
desist ; but Mr Maurice, with great courage, charged him 
in the name of the Great God, whose message he was then 
delivering, to forbear molesting him, as he would answer it 
at the great day. The constable, awed by his solemn man- 
ner, sat down trembling, heard him patiently to the end of 
his discourse, and then quietly left him. 

Chap. ii. ver. 26. — The thief is ashamed when he 
is found. 

Robert A , foreman to a respectable nurseryman at 

some distance from town, who had lived with his employers 
ten years, and had a good character, one Saturday night, 
after applying for his wages, claimed pay for a young man 
up to that day, whom he had discharged some days before. 
His master said, looking him steadily in the face, " Robert, 
do you want to cheat me, by asking wages for a man that 
you discharged yourself eight days ago ?" He had no 
sooner said this, than the miserable conscience-stricken 
man's blood forsook his face, as if he had been stabbed to 
the heart. When his master saw him so much affected, he 
told him that he might still labour as he had done, but that 
after such a manifestly dishonest attempt, his character, and 
the confidence in it, were gone for ever. On Monday, 
Robert made his appearance, but was utterly an altered 
man. The agitation of his mind had reduced his body to 
the feebleness of an infant's. He took his spade and tried 
to use it, but in vain ; and it was with difficulty that he 
reached home. He went to bed immediately ; medical aid 
was procured, but to no purpose, and the poor fellow sunk 
under the sense of his degradation, and expired on Wednes- 
day forenoon ! His neighbours who attended him, say, 
that a short time before he died, he declared, that the agony 
consequent on the loss of his character as an honest man, 
which he had for so many years maintained, was the sole 
cause of his death. 

Chap. hi. ver. lo. — I will give you pastors accord- 
ing to mine heart, which shall feed you with know- 
ledge and understanding. 

The late Rev. Robert Hall of Bristol was once asked what 



350 JEREMIAH VI. 

he thought of a sermon which had been delivered by a pro- 
verbially fine preacher, and which had seemed to excite a 
great sensation among the congregation : — " Very fine, Sir, 
he replied, "but a man cannot feed upon flowers." 

Ch. Iv. ver. 22. — They are sottish children, and 

they have none understanding : they are wise to do 
evil, but to do good, they have no knowledge. 

A gay young fellow, who piqued himself on the charac- 
ter of a libertine, was expatiating upon the qualifications 
necessary to form a perfect and accomplished debauchee ; 
when, having finished his tirade, he turned to one of the 
company present^ who seemed to receive this sally very 
gravely, and whom, therefore, he wished to insult, and 
asked his opinion. Not at all disconcerted at his insolence, 
the gentleman replied very dryly, " It appears to me, Sir, 
that you have omitted two of the most important and essen- 
tial qualifications." " Indeed ! and pray what may they 
be r" " An excessively weak head, and a thoroughly bad 
heart." The rake was silent, and soon afterwards left the 
company. 

Chap. v. ver. 22. — The Lord — which have placed 
the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual de- 
cree, that it cannot pass it : and though the waves 
thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail ; 
though they roar, yet can they not pass over it. 

Thomas Mann, a pious waterman on the Thames, being 
once employed to row a party of pleasure, one of the num- 
ber, a young lady, proposed singing " Rule Britannia,'' 
when Mann remarked, that he had heard Mr Newton say, 
" God rules the waves, not Britannia." 

Chap. vi. ver. 10. — The word of the Lord is unto 
them a reproach : they have no delight in it. 

The Rev. John Eliot, styled, The Apostle of the In- 
dians, was once asked by a pious woman, who was vexed 
with a wicked husband, and bad company frequently in- 
festing her house on his account, what she should do ? 
" Take," said he, "the Holy Bible into your hand when 
bad company comes in, and that will soon drive them out 
of the house." 



JEREMIAH IX, 351 

Chap. vii. ver. 9, 10. — Will ye steal, murder, and 
commit adultery, and swear falsely — And come and 
stand before me in this house, which is called by 
my name ? 

Two Greeks, notorious for their piracies and other 
crimes, were lately tried and condemned, and three days 
after executed. In the course of the trial, it appeared that 
the beef and anchovies, on board one of the English vessels 
which they pirated, w r ere left untouched, and the circum- 
stances under which they were left, appeared to the court 
so peculiar, that the culprits were asked the cause of it. 
They promptly answered, that it was at the time of the great 
fast when their church eat neither meat nor fish ! They 
appeared to be most hardened and abandoned wretches, 
enemies alike to their own and every other nation, and yet 
rigidly maintaining their religious character ; and while 
they were robbing, plundering, and murdering, and stealing 
the women and children of their countrymen, and selling 
them to the Turks, and committing other atrocious deeds, 
they would have us understand that they were not so wicked 
as to taste meat or fish, when prohibited by the canons of 
their church ! 

Chap. viii. ver. 9. — They have rejected the word 
of the Lord ; and what wisdom is in them ? 

A gentleman was arguing with a deist on the absurdity 
of rejecting Christianity without examination. He owned 
that he never knew a peison examine the subject, who did 
not afterwards embrace it ; but excused himself from exa- 
mining, under the plea that to do so was analogous to 
drinking brandy which always produced intoxication. u Is 
it not honourable to Christianity,' ' says the gentleman, u to 
have enemies, who must give up the exercise of their rea- 
son before they reject it ?" 

Chap. ix. ver. 23. — Let not the wise man glory 
in his wisdom. 

In 1201, Simon Tcurnay, after he had excelled all his 
contemporaries at Oxford in learning, and became so emi- 
nent at Paris as to be made the chief doctor of the Scr- 
bonne, grew so proud, that while he regarded Aristotle as 
superior to Moses and Christ, he considered him as but 



352 JEREMIAH XIII. 

equal to himself ! He became such an idiot at length, as 
not to know one letter in a book, or one thing he had ever 
done. 

Chap. x. ver. 25. — Pour out thy fury upon the 
heathen that know thee not, and upon the families 
that call not on thy name. 

A credible historian informs us, that about one hundred 
and fifty years ago, there was an earthquake in Switzer- 
land, by which part of a mountain was thrown down, which 
fell upon a village that stood under it, and crushed every 
house and inhabitant to atoms, except the corner of one cot- 
tage, where the master of the house with his family were 
together praying unto God. 

Chap. xi. ver. 19. — Let us cut him off from the 
land of the living. 

" You take a life from me that I cannot keep," said one 
of the martyrs to his persecutors, u and bestow a life upon 
me that I cannot lose ; which is as if you should rob me of 
counters, and furnish me with gold." 

Chap. xii. ver. 5. — How wilt thou do in the 
swelling of Jordan ? 

The Rev. Richard Hooker, just before his death, said, 
<( I have lived to see that this world is made up of pertur- 
bations ; and I have been long preparing to leave it, and 
gathering comfort for the dreadful hour of making my ac- 
count with God, which I now apprehend to be near ; and 
though I have, by his grace, loved him in my youth, and 
feared him in my age, and laboured to have a conscience 
void of offence to him, and to all men ; yet if thou, Lord, 
shouldst be extreme to mark what I have done amiss, who 
can abide it ? And, therefore, where I have failed, Lord, 
show mercy to me ; for I plead not my righteousness, but 
the forgiveness of my unrighteousness, for his merits, who 
died to purchase a pardon for penitent sinners." 

Chap. xiii. ver. 17. — But if ye will not hear it, 
my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. 

A gay, dissipated young man, went one day to his pious 
mother, and said, " Mother, let me have my best clothes, 
I am going to a ball to-night.*' She expostulated with 



JEREMIAH xir. 353 

him, and urged him not to go, by every argument in her 
power. He answered, " Mother, let me have my clothes, 
I will go, and it is useless to say any thing about it." She 
brought his clothes ; he put them on, and was going out. 
She slopped him, and said, " My child, do not go." He 
said he would ; she then said to him, M My son, while you 
are dancing with your gay companions in the ball-room, I 
shall be out in that wilderness praying to the Lord to con- 
vert your soul." He went ; the ball commenced ; but in- 
stead of the usual gaiety, an unaccountable gloom pervaded 
the whole assembly. One said, " We never had such a 
dull meeting in our lives ;" another, " I wish we had not 
come, we have no life, we cannot get along ;" a third, " I 
cannot think what is the matter." The young man in- 
stantly burst into tears, and said, " I know what is the 
matter ; my poor old mother is now praying in yonder 
wilderness for her ungodly son." He took his hat, and 
said, " I will never be found in such a place as this again," 
and left the company. To be short, the Lord converted 
his soul. He became a member of the church — was soon 
after taken ill — and died happy. 

Chap. xiv. ver. 22. — Are there any among the 
vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain .? or can 
the heavens give showers ? Art thou not he, O 
Lord our God ? therefore we will wait upon thee : 
for thou hast made all these things. 

A youth in the South Sea Islands, called Joseph Banks, 
after Sir Joseph Banks, Captain Cook's companion, had 
been much abroad, and was a shrewd observer of all that 
came under his notice. One day, when he was disputing 
against the superstitions of his country, a priest affirmed 
that, if the maraes, or temples, were forsaken, there would 
be no rain, and every thing would be burnt up. He re- 
plied, "In England and America there are no idols, no 
tabus, yet there is plenty of rain there, and fine crops too. 
in Tahiti and Huahine they have broken the tabus, and 
destroyed the idols, and worship the God of the white men, 
yet the rain falls there, and the fruits grow as abundantly 
as ever. And why should not rain fall, and the ground 
produce food here as well as elsewhere, when these sense- 
less things are done away ?" The priest was confounded. 
2 g 2 



354 JEREMIAH XVII. 

Chap. xv. ver. 16. — Thy word was unto me the 
joy and rejoicing of mine heart. 

" I have many books," says Mi Xewton, " that I cannot 
sit down to read ; they are indeed good and sound, but, 
like halfpence, there goes a great quantity to a little amount. 
There are silver books, and a very few golden books ; but 
1 have one book worth more than all, called the Bible, 
and that is a book of bank-notes." 

Ch. xvi. v. 17. — Mine eyes are upon all their ways. 

One of the heathen philosophers recommended it to his 
pupils, as the best means to induce and enable them to 
behave worthily, to imagine that some very distinguished 
character was always looking upon them. But what was 
the eye of a Cato to the eye of God ? Who would not ap- 
prove themselves unto him ? The celebrated Linnaeus had 
the following inscription placed over the door of the hall 
in which he gave his lectures : — " Liye guiltless — God 
observes you." 

Chap. xvii. ver. 14. — Lord, save me. 

A minister asked the maid at an inn in the Netherlands, 
if she prayed to God ? She replied, " She had scarce time 
to eat, how should she have time to pray ?" He promised 
to give her a little money, if on his return she could assure 
him she had meanwhile said three words of prayeT, night 
and morning. Only three words and a reward, caught her 
promise. He solemnly added, fi Lord, save me !" For a 
fortnight she said the words unmeaningly ; but one night 
she wondered what they meant, and why he bade her re- 
peat them. God put it into her heart to look at the Bible, 
and see if it would tell her. She liked some verses where 
she opened so well, that next morning she looked again, 
and so on. When the good man went back, he asked the 
landlord for her, as a stranger served him. " Oh, Sir ! 
she got too good for my place, and lives with the minis- 
ter!" So soon as she saw the minister at the door, she 
cried, " Ts it you, you blessed man ? I shall thank God 
through all eternity that 1 ever saw you ; I want not the 
money, 1 have reward enough for saying those words J" 
She then described how salvation by Jesus Christ was 
taught her by the Bible, in answer to this prayer. 



JEREMIAH XX. 355 

Chap, xviii. ver. 12. — They said, There is no hope ; 
but we will walk after our own devices, and we will 
every one do the imagination of his evil heart. 

A young woman, whoraDr Gifford visited in prison, and 
who was to be tried for her life, heard him speak a good 
while in an awful strain, not only unmoved, but at last she 
laughed in his face. He then altered his tone, and spoke 
of the love of Jesus, and the mercy provided for chief sin- 
ners, till the tears came in her eyes, and she interrupted 
him by asking, " Why ; do you think there can be mercy 
for me ?" He said, " Undoubtedly, if you can desire it." 
She replied, u Ah ! if I had thought so, I should not have 
been here ; I have long fixed it in my mind that I was ab- 
solutely lost, and without hope, and this persuasion made 
me obstinate in my wickedness, so that I cared not what I 
did." She was afterwards tried, and sentenced to trans- 
portation, and Dr Gifford, who saw her several times, had 
a good hope that she was truly converted before she left 
England. 

Chap. xix. ver. 1. — They have filled this place 
with the blood of innocents. 

Mr Ellis informs us, that during the year 1829, Mr 
Williams, a missionary to the South Sea Islands, had one 
day sitting in his room three females, the eldest not more 
than forty years of age. The subject of the murder of in- 
fants was introduced, and he remarked that perhaps some 
of them had been guilty of the crime. On inquiry, these 
females reluctantly confessed that they had destroyed not 
fewer than twenty-one infants ! One had murdered nine, 
another seven, and the other five. Nor did it appear that 
these women had been more guilty than their neighbours. 

Chap. xx. ver. 9. — Then I said, I will not make 
mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. 

The late Mr Clark of Trowbridge, one Sabbath after- 
noon, said to his wife, " My dear, I can never preach 
again ; I have told my people all I have to say." She said, 
" But you will disappoint the people, and whom can we 
engage for to-night ?" He still urged that he should be 
unable to say any thing, when a woman was introduced} 



356 JEREMIAH XXII. 

who said she had come a long way to beg Mr Clark to 
preach from this text, " Then I said, I will not make men- 
tion of him, nor speak any more in his name ; but his word 
was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, 
and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay/' 
He saw the finger of God in it, and preached from that 
text in the evening, and was never after at any loss, 

Chap. xxi. ver. 6. — I will smite the inhabitants of 
this city, — and they shall die of a great pestilence. 

In a letter, dated August 30, 1830, the Rev. William 
Glen gives the following account of the ravages of the 
cholera morbus in Astrachan : — " In general, business of 
every kind was at a stand. The bank suspended its ope- 
rations. In the bazaars not a whisper was to be heard., 
and scarcely a face to be seen ; even the public houses were 
abandoned, and a general gloom was spread over the coun- 
tenances of the few solitary individuals that were to be seen 
walking through the streets. According to the best au- 
thenticated accounts, when the disease was at its height, 
the number of funerals, on one particular day, was five 
hundred, and on another day four hundred and eighty, 
More than one thousand were buried about that time in a 
large pit, for want of graves, which could not be got dug so 
fast as required, nor at a rate the poor could afford to pay 
for them. Such a time we have never seen, nor do I sup- 
pose that such a time was ever seen in Astrachan." 

Chap. xxii. ver. 80. — Tims saith the Lord, Write 
ye tliis man childless, a man that shall not prosper in 
his days : for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting 
upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in 
Jndah. 

The Rev. Mr Douglas, an eminently pious minister in 
Edinburgh, had usually the subjects of his discourses so 
forcibly impressed on his mind, that he seldom or never 
had any anxiety in choosing a text. Having been appoint- 
ed to preach at the coronation of Charles II. at Scaon, the 
above passage was suggested to him as a text. The good 
man was troubled what to do. To preach from it, would 
bring down the vengeance of the court — to reject it, would 
perhaps expose him to Divine chastisement. After much 
anxious and painful deliberation, he resolved to choose an~ 






JEREMIAH XXIV. 357 

other, as much suited to the occasion as possible. The 
text he selected was 2 Kings xi. 12. — " And he brought 
forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and 
gave him the testimony : and they made him king, and 
anointed him ; and they clapped their hands, and said, 
God save the king," It is remarkable that, during the 
remainder of his life, he laboured under great difficulty in 
choosing the subjects of his discourses ; the wonted aid 
from above appearing to be withheld, as a correction for his 
sin, in resisting convictions of duty, from the fear of man 
that bringeth a snare. 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 32. — I sent them not, nor com- 
manded them; therefore they shall not profit this 
people at all, saitli the Lord. 

"When two or three gentlemen, in company with the late 
Rev. Robert Hall of Bristol, were discussing the ques- 
tion — Whether a man of no religion can be a successful 
minister of the gospel ? — surprise was expressed that Mr 
Hall remained silent. u Sir," said he in reply, " 1 would 
not deny that a sermon from a bad man may sometimes do 
good ; but the general question does not admit of an argu- 
ment. Is it at all probable that he who is a willing ser- 
vant of Satan, will fight against him with all his might f 
and, if not, what success can be rationally expected ?" 

Chap. xxiv. ver. 5. — Them that are carried away 
captive of Judah, whom I have sent ont of this place 
into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. 

A missionary in India, passing one day through the 
school-room, observed a little boy engaged in prayer, and 
overheard him saying, " O Lord Jesus, I thank thee for 
sending big ship into my country, and wicked men to 
steal me, and bring me here that I might hear about thee, 
and love thee ; and now, Lord Jesus, I have one great 
favour to ask thee, please to send wicked men with another 
big ship, and let them catch my father and my mother, 
and bring them to this country, that they may hear the 
missionaries preach, and love thee." The missionary in a 
few days after, saw him standing on the sea-shore, looking 
very intently as the ships came in. " What are you look- 
ing at, T-om ?" u I am looking to see if Jesus Christ 



358 JEREMIAH XXVI. 

answer prayer." For two years he was to be seen day 
after day. watching the arrival of every ship. One day, as 
the missionary was viewing him, he observed hirn capering 
about, and exhibiting the liveliest joy. " "Well, Tom, what 
occasions so much joy ?" " O, Jesus Christ answer pray- 
er — father and mother come in that ship ;" which was ac- 
tually the case. 

Chap. xxv. ver. 27- — Drink ye, and be drunken. 
and spue, and fall, and rise no more. 

A man in North America, who, for several years, had 
been guilty of occasional excess, was, for a week prior to 
his death, intoxicated every day, and abused his family un- 
mercifully. The morning of the day on which he died, he 
said to his wife, with a horrible oath, " "When I drink an. 
other glass of rum, 1 hope God Almighty vill strike me 
dead !" He immediately went to a public house — drank 
rum while there — rilled Lis jug — and, returning, beat his 
vvife, and knocked her to the floor, though her peculiar 
on demanded the most kind and affectionate treat - 
i . from her husband. A little before two o'clock in the 
afternoon, he took his jug, and, going to another room, 
said, " I swear I will drink till I die, let it be longer or 
shorter." His wife expostulated, when he swore he would 
do so, calling the Saviour to witness. He expired before 
three o'clock ; ill prepared, there is every reason to fear, 
for his departure. 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 2, — Speak unto all the cities of 
Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, 
all the words that I command thee to speak unto 
them ; diminish not a word, 

The Rev. J. Brewer's (of Birmingham) manner of ex- 
pounding the Scriptures was very instructive and useful; 
and his general style of preaching was that, which, by way 
of distinction and eminence, has been called scriptural, be- 
cause it embodies so large a portion of the sentiment and 
language of holy writ. This peculiar character of his 
preaching, Mi Brewer attributed, in a great degree, to a 
remark of the Eev. Edmund Jones, a minister in Wales, 
who. after hearing his young friend preach, said to him, 
when he came down from the pulpit, " Young man, I love 
to hear the sound of scripture in a sermon." It was a 



JEREMIAH XXVIII. 359 

word in season, and he never forgot it, " It did me more 
good," said Mr Brewer, " than all my studies." 

Ch. xxvii. ver. 9. — Hearken not to your sorcerers. 

" Of the power of this superstition, (sorcery,)" says Mr 
Stewart in his Journal, M we had a proof in a native of our 
own household, A thief was put to flight from our yard 
one day, while we were at dinner. A lad joined in the 
chace, and seized the culprit, but lost his hold by the tear- 
ing of his kichei, or outer garment. The thief was greatly 
exasperated, and immediately engaged a sorcerer to pray 
the boy to death. Information of this reached the lad in 
the course of the afternoon ; and we soon perceived him to 
be troubled by the intelligence, though he attempted with 
us to ridicule the superstition. The next morning he did 
not make his appearance with the other boys ; and upon 
inquiring from them, they said he was sick. We asked 
the nature of this sickness ; to which it was replied, tha* 
M he was sick from the prayer of sorcery, perhaps." We 
found him lying in one corner of his bouse, paie with fear, 
and trembling like an aspen leaf, and discovered that he 
had not slept during the night : we were satisfied that the 
whole arose from terror ; and compelled him, notwithstand- 
ing his declarations that he was sick, to come from his 
retreat, diverted his mind, set him at work, and before 
noon he was as full of life and spirits as ever, laughed at 
his fears, and began to defy the power of the—' sorcerer's 
prayer.' " 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 16. — This year thou shalt die. 

An intimate friend of President Davies of New-Jersey 
College, told him a few days before the beginning of the 
year in which he died, that a sermon on the first day of it 
would be expected from him ; mentioning, that it was Pre- 
sident Burr's custom to do so ; and that on the new-year's 
day preceding his death, he preached from Jer. xxviii. 16. 
" Thus saith the Lord, This year thou shalt die ;" which 
the people afterwards had regarded as premonitory. When 
the first of January came, Mr Davies preached from the 
same text ; and being seized with his last illness scon after, 
said, he had been led to preach, as it were, his own funeral 
sermon. Mr Davies often referred to this remarkable cir- 
cumstance on his death-bed. 



360 JEREMIAH XXX. 

Chap. xxix. ver. 12, 13. — Ye shall go and pray 
unto me, and I will hearken nnto you. — And ye shall 
seek me, and find me, when ye shall search" for me 
with all your heart. 

A person, in addressing some children on the subject of 
prayer, described its importance and advantages ; and ex- 
plained the difference between praying and saying prayers, 
A boy in the first class, whose attention had been arrested 
by the subject, was powerfully affected by the impressive 
manner in which this duty was urged upon the children. 
He reflected, that though he had daily been in the habit of 
saying his prayers 3 yet he then felt convinced that he never 
grayed as he ought to have done. He left the school under 
a deep concern for his soul's welfare, and on reaching 
home, retired to a private apartment in the house, and 
sought the Lord in prayer with his whole heart. He did 
not seek in vain. He obtained mercy, through the blood 
of Christ. He joined in church-fellowship, became a use- 
ful teacher in a school, and has continued to adorn the 
doctrine of the Saviour by a becoming conversation. 

Chap. xxx. ver. 19. — I will multiply them, and 
they shall not be few ; I will also glorify them, and 
they shall not be small. 

The following is an extract from a u Narrative of the 
State of Religion within the bounds of the Presbyterian 
Church, in the United States of America, and Correspond- 
ing Churches, May 1832:" — 

" It is our delightful privilege to report, that sixty-eight 
Presbyteries have been blessed with the special influences 
of the Holy Spirit, reviving the churches, and bringing 
perishing sinners to the saving knowledge of the truth. In 
these highly-favoured Presbyteries, about seven hundred 
congregations are reported as having been thus visited in 
rich mercy. In many of these places, thus refreshed by 
the showers of divine grace, the displays of the power of 
the Gospel have been glorious, almost beyond example 
Several Presbyteries have had their whole territory per- 
vaded by a heavenly influence, and every congregation 
has become a harvest-field for the ingathering of souls to 
the fold of the Good Shepherd. These bodies send us the 



JEREMIAH XXXII. 36 1 

animating message, that all, or nearly all, their churches 
have enjoyed a precious season of revival. fc Never/ says 
the report from West Hanover, 4 have we had the privilege 
of recording so many signal triumphs of Almighty grace. 
The angel having the everlasting Gospel in his hand, has 
passed through our borders, and has brought salvation to 
almost every house. So powerful and extensive has been 
the divine influences among us, that one district is known 
where not one adult could be found, unconcerned upon 
the subject of religion. On some occasions, a whole con- 
gregation, without one exception, have been prostrated be- 
fore God, anxiously inquiring for salvation. Eighteen of 
our congregations have been revived, and in one of them, 
three hundred hopeful conversions have taken place.'" 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 15. — A voice was heard in Ra- 
man, lamentation, and bitter weeping ; Rachel weep- 
ing for her children, refused to be comforted for her 
children, because they were not. 

One day, while the lady of Sir Stamford Raffies was 
almost overwhelmed with grief for the loss of a favourite 
child, unable to bear the sight of her other children — un- 
able to bear even the light of day — humbled upon her 
couch with a feeling of misery, she was addressed by a 
poor, ignorant, umnstructed native woman, of the lowest 
class, who had been employed about the nursery, in terms 
of reproach not to be forgotten. " I am come because you 
have been here many days shut up in a dark room, and no 
one dares to come near you. Are you not ashamed to 
grieve in this manner when you ought to be thanking God 
for having given you the most beautiful child that ever was 
seen ? Did any one ever see him, or speak of him, with- 
out admiring him ? And instead of letting this child con- 
tinue in this world till he should be worn out with trouble 
and sorrow, has not God taken him to heaven in all his 
beauty ? What would you have more ? For shame ! — 
leave off weeping, and let me open a window." 

Chap, xxxii. ver. 10. — Great in counsel, and 
mighty in work. 

A person at dinner with Mr Newton of London, re- 
marked, that the East India Company had overset the 
2 H 



362 JEREMIAH XXXIV. 

college at Calcutta. " What a pity !" said a gentleman 
present. M No," said Mr N., " no pity — it must do good. 
If you had a plan in view, and could hinder opposition, 
would you not prevent it ?" — ;t Yes, Sir." — " Well, God 
can hinder all opposition to his plans : he has permitted 
that to take place, but he will carry on his own plan. I 
am learning to see God in all things : I believe not a per- 
son knocks at my door but is sent by God." 

Ch. xxxiii. ver. 16. — The Lord our Righteousness. 

Ci If it be shameful to renounce error," says Mr Hervey, 
<; and sacrifice all to truth, I do very willingly take this 
shame to myself, in a copy of verses which I formerly 
wrote, sacred to the memory of a generous benefactor. I 
remember the following hues :— 

1 Our wants relieved by thy indulgent care 
Shall give thee courage at the dreadful bar, 
And stud the crown thou shalt tor ever wear.' 

These lines, in whatever hands they are lodged, and what- 
ever else of a like kind may have dropt from my pen, I 
now publicly disclaim ; they are the very reverse of my 
present belief, in which I hope to persevere as long as I 
have any being. Far be it from me to suppose that any 
work of mine should, in order to create my peace, or che- 
rish my confidence, be coupled with Christ's most holy 
acts. I speak the words of our church, and I speak the 
sense of the prophet, ; I will trust, and not be afraid ;' 
wherefore ? because I am inherently holy ? rather God is 
my salvation ; God manifest in the flesh has finished my 
transgression, and made an end of my sin ; and in this 
most magnificent work will I rejoice. — Thy Maker is thy 
Husband : the consequence of which is, all thy debts and 
deficiencies are upon him, all his consummate righteous- 
ness is upon thee." 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 9. — That every man should let 
his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, 
being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free. 

After Dr Hopkins of North America had become im- 
pressed with the sinfulness of slavery, he did much, in his 
intercourse with his brethren, to awaken their attention to 
the subject, and to convince them of their obligations to 
discountenance that enormity, Visiting at the house of 



JEREMIAH XXXV. 363 

Dr Bellamy of Connecticut, who was at that time the 
owner of a slave, he, with his wonted candour, pressed the 
subject upon the attention of his friend. Dr B. endea- 
voured to defend the practice by the usual arguments ; but 
Dr H. having successfully refuted them, called upon him 
immediately to free his slave. In answer to this demand, 
it was urged, that the slave was a most faithful and judi- 
cious servant ; that in his management of the doctor's farm 
he could be trusted with every thing ; and that he was so 
happy in his servitude, that he would, in the opinion of 
his master, refuse his freedom, were it offered to him. 
" Will you consent to his liberation," said Dr Hopkins, 
u if he really desires it ?"— " Yes," replied Dr B., ♦< I 
will." The slave was then at work in the field. u Call 
him," said Dr H., " and let us try." The slave came to 
receive, as he supposed, the commands of his master. 
f< Have you a good master? 11 said Dr Hopkins, addressing 
the slave. " O yes, massa ; he very good." — u Are you 
happy in your present condition ?" — O yes, massa ; me very 
happy." — u Would you be more happy if you were free ?" 
— " O yes, massa ; me would be much more happy."— 
" You have your desire," exclaimed Dr Bellamy ; " from 
this moment you are free." 

Chap. xxxv. ver. 6. — We will drink no wine : 
for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, command- 
ed us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, 
nor your sons for ever. 

Among a few individuals who lately met at a Christmas 
supper in a public-house, there happened to be a tradesman 
who belonged to the Temperance Society. His unprinci- 
pled companions thought it too good an opportunity to be 
lost of working the fall of the poor man, and of injuring 
the general cause of temperance. They accordingly made 
use of every artifice in order to induce him to drink the 
poisonous cup, though without success, when the landlady, 
who had been acquainted with the proceeding, immediately 
stepped between them, and declared that, as he had joined 
the Temperance Society, ?io one should give him one drop 
of whisky in her housc^ but that if he chose he might have 
ale or porter. The poor man, being thus supported, took 
courage ; but, wisely considering that it was unsafe for him 



364 JEREMIAH XXXVII. 

to take even ale or porter in such company, went home 
after supper, without drinking any thing, to the grievous 
mortification and disappointment of his drunken compa- 
nions. 

Chap, xxxvi. ver. 23. — The king cut it with the 
pen-knife, and cast it into the fire that was on the 
hearth, until all the roll was consumed. 

A few years ago, a party of men, muffled up in great- 
coats, entered the house of an unoffending Protestant in 
Edgeworthstown ; and after having placed a guard on a 
female who was the only inmate of the house at the time, 
they proceeded to search the rooms till they found a large 
Bible, which they carried out, and tore into a thousand 
fragments in an adjoining ditch. A man who seemed the 
principal of the party, stood at the door, and gave orders 
to the others not to meddle with any thing but the thing 
which they came for. The violence of their animosity was 
exhibited by trampling the leaves of the Bible in the mire. 

Chap, xxxvii. ver. 20. — Let my supplication, I 
pray thee, be accepted before thee ; that thou cause 
me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, 
lest I die there. 

Sir John Chardin, when mentioning the power that 
jailors, in Eastern countries, have over the prisoners com- 
mitted to their charge, relates the story of an eminent Ar- 
menian merchant. He was u treated with the greatest 
caresses upon the jailor's receiving a considerable present 
from him at first, and fleecing him after from time to time ; 
then upon the party's presenting something considerable, 
first to the judge, and afterwards to the jailor, who sued 
the Armenian, the prisoner first felt his privileges re- 
trenched, was then closely confined, and was then treated 
with such inhumanity as not to be permitted to drink above 
once in twenty-four hours, and this in the hottest time of 
summer, nor any body suffered to come near him but the 
servants of the prison, and at length thrown into a dun- 
geon, where he was, in a quarter of an hour, brought to 
the point to which all this severe usage was intended to 
force him." 



JEREMIAH XLI. 365 

Chap, xxxviii. ver. 6. — They took Jeremiah, and 
cast him into the dungeon. 

One of the witnesses of the truth, when imprisoned for 
conscience sake in Queen Mary's persecution of the Church, 
is said to have thus written to a friend ; — " A prisoner for 
Christ ! What is this for a poor worm ? Such honour 
have not all his saints. Both the degrees which I took in 
the University, have not set me so high as the honour of 
becoming a prisoner of the Lord." 

Chap, xxxix. ver. 17. — I will deliver thee in that 
day, saith the Lord ; and thou shalt not be given 
into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. 

Augustine, going on one occasion to preach at a distant 
town, took with him a guide to direct him in the way. 
The man, by some unaccountable means, mistook the usual 
road, and fell into a bye-path. It afterwards proved, that 
by this means his life had been saved, as some of the Do- 
natists, who were his enemies, had way-laid him, with the 
design of killing him. 

Chap. xl. ver. 14. — Dost thou certainly know that 
Baalis, the king of the Ammonites, hath sent Ishmael 
— to slay thee ? But Gedaliah — believed them not. 

The Regent Murray, who was assassinated by Hamilton 
of Bothwellhaugh, in 1570, had got information, we are 
told, the same day on which the murder was committed, 
respecting the assassin, and the place where he was con- 
cealed. He accordingly resolved to proceed to Edinburgh 
on the road which skirts the outside of the town of Linlith- 
gow ; but perceiving the gate through which he intended 
to pass, blockaded by a crowd, he turned the other way, 
through the principal street, where the assassin, with a 
musket, took his fatal aim from a window. The Good 
Regent died in the evening of the srme day, while the mur- 
derer, having a horse in readiness, effected his escape. 

Chap. xli. ver. 8. — Ten men were found among 
them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not ; for we 
have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, 
and of oil, and of honey. 

Dr Shaw informs us, that in Barbary, when the grain is 
2 h 2 



366 JEREMIAH XLIII, 

winnowed, they lodge it in mattamores, or subterraneous 
repositories ; two or three hundred of which are sometimes 
together, the smallest holding four hundred bushels. These 
are very common in other parts of the East, and are in 
particular mentioned by Dr Russell, as being in great num- 
bers near Aleppo, about the villages. A method, simi- 
lar to this, is used in the Holy Land. Le Bruyn speaks 
of deep pits at Rama, which he was told were designed for 
corn ; and Rauwolf mentions three very large vaults at 
Joppa, which were used for the purpose of laying up grain 
when he visited that place. The treasures of wheat, &c, 
might be laid up by these ten men in the same kind of re- 
positories. 

Chap. xlii. ver. 20. — Ye dissembled in your hearts, 
when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, savings 
Pray for us unto the Lord our God ; and according 
unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare 
unto us, and we will do it. 

A woman once came to the Rev. Mr Kilpin of Exeter,, 
with a long preface on the duty and privilege of having the 
opinion of a minister on the important subject of marriage. 
She told her tale, and sought advice. Mr Kilpin guessed 
how matters stood, and unexpectedly inquired if the day 
for her marriage was not fixed for Tuesday ? " O ! no, 
Sir," she hastily replied, U not until Thursday. " This 
gave him an opportunity of pointing out the sin of persons 
treating the great and blessed God in somewhat the same 
manner, seeking direction on a subject, clearly stated in 
his word, with a determination to act as their own feelings 
and desires dictated, let the voice of God, in his word or 
providence, be what it might. 

Chap, xliii. ver. 10. — Nebuchadnezzar shall spread 
his royal pavilion over them. 

ce While we were employed on the theatre of Miletus," 
says Dr Chandler in his travels, " the Aga of Suki, son- 
in-law to Elez-Oglu, (a Turkish officer of high rank), 
crossed the plain towards us, atteuded by a considerable 
train of domestics and officers, their vests and turbans of 
various and lively colours, mounted on long-tailed horses, 
with showy trappings, and glittering furniture. He re- 



JEREMIAH XLV, S6j 

turned, after hawking, to Miletus ; and we went to visit 
him, with a present of coffee and sugar ; but were told that 
two favourite birds had flown away, and that he was vexed 
and tired. A couch was prepared for him beneath a shed, 
made against a cottage, and covered with green boughs to 
keep off the sun. He entered, as we were standing by, 
and fell down on it to sleep, without taking any notice of 
us." 

Chap. xliv. ver. 18. — Since we left off to burn in- 
cense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink- 
offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and 
have been consumed by the sword and by the famine, 

A Hindoo who had renounced idolatry, was soon after 
suddenly afflicted, upon which many of his heathen ac- 
quaintance came to see him, and said, " This sickness, 
without doubt, is sent to punish you, because you have for- 
saken Swamy, (the idol), and have destroyed your pagoda ; 
we therefore advise you to renounce Christianity, and again 
to worship Swamy, and you will soon recover." He said 
to them, " The great God whom I now worship, made all 
things ; therefore, He alone is able to restore me to health. 
I do not fear the devil's anger, for without divine permis- 
sion he cannot accomplish any thing ; and if my present 
sickness should be the means of my death, I will die trust- 
ing in Christ." After which he remonstrated with them 
on the folly and sin of worshipping idols, and they depart- 
ed. He recovered, and is giving evidence of being a sin- 
cere follower of Christ. 

Chap. xlv. ver. 5. — Seekest thou great things for 
thyself? seek them not. 

Sir Henry Wotton, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
who had great honours conferred on him, on account of his 
near relation to the Queen's great favourite, Robert Earl 
of Essex, was very intimate with the Duke of Tuscany, 
and *ith James, then King of Scotland, (and afterwards of 
England,) and had been sent on several embassies to Hol- 
land, Germany, and Venice : after ail, he desired to retire 
with this motto, " That he had learned at length, that the 
soul grew wiser by retirement ;" and consequently, that a 
man was more happy in a private situation, than it was 



368 JEfiEMIAH XLVII. 

possible for him to he with those worldly honours which 
were accompanied with so many troubles. In short, the 
utmost of his aim in this life, for the future, was to be 
Provost of Eaton, that there he might enjoy his beloved 
study and devorion. He was afterwards heard to say, that 
the day on which he put on his surplice, was the happiest 
day of his whole life ; it being the utmost happiness a man 
can attain here, to be at leisure, to be and to do good. 
This great man never reflected on his former years, but he 
would weep, and say, w How much time have I to repent 
of ! and how little to do it in !" 

Ch. xlvi. v. 18. — Tabor is among the mountains. 

u The view from Mount Tabor," saysDr Russell, " is 
extolled by every traveller. Maundrell remarks, B it is 
impossible for man's eyes to behold a higher gratification of 
this nature.' On the north-west you discern in the dis- 
tance the noble expanse of the Mediterranean, while all 
around you see the spacious and beautiful Plains of Es- 
draelon and Galilee. Turning a little southward, you have 
in view the high mountains of Gilboa, so fatal to Saul and 
his sons. Due east, you discover the Sea of Tiberias, dis- 
tant about one day's journey. A few points to the north 
appears the Mount of Beatitudes, the place where Christ 
delivered his sermon to his disciples and the multitude. 
Not far from this little hill is the city of Saphet, or Szaf- 
fad, standing upon elevated and very conspicuous ground. 
Still farther, in the same direction, is seen a lofty peak co- 
vered with snow, a part of the chain of Anti-Lebanus. To 
the south-west is Carmel, and in the south the hills of 
Samaria." 

Ch. xlvii. v. 5. — How long wilt thou cut thyself? 

" We often read," says Harmer, " of people cutting 
themselves, in Holy "Writ, when in great anguish ; but we 
are not commonly told what part they wounded. The 
modem Arabs, it seems, gash their arms, which with them 
are often bare. It appears from a passage of Jeremiah, the 
ancients wounded themselves in the same part. Chap, 
xlviii. 37, ' Every head shall be bald, and every beard 
clipped : upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon 
the loins sackcloth.' " 



JEREMIAH L. o6Q 

Chap, xlviii. ver. 38.— I have broken Moab like a 
vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord. 

The Moabites had, in succession, the monarchs of Is- 
rael, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Syria, and Egypt, and the 
Komans, all as their enemies, "who brought them to de- 
struction. They now no longer exist ; their country is a 
heap of wild ruins, showing enough of their ancient gran- 
deur to remind us what they once were ; and the rude tribes 
of Bedouin Arabs now dwell in it, living in tents. 

Chap. xlix. ver. 11. — Leave thy fatherless chil- 
dren, I will preserve them alive ; and let thy widows 
trust in roe, 

" A friend of mine," says Mr Newton, " in the west of 
England (a faithful laborious minister, but who, I believe, 
never was master of five pounds at one time) was dying, 
His friends advised him to make his will; he replied, ' I 
have nothing to leave but my wife and children, and I 
leave them to the care of my gracious God/* Soon after 
this he died happily. But there appeared no prospect of 
support for his family at this time. The Lord, however, 
stirred up a man who had always despised his preaching, 
to feel for the deceased minister's poor destitute family ; 
and he so exerted himself, that he was the means of L.16O0 
being raised by subscriptions for them ; and the clergy of 
Exeter, who had never countenanced his preachings, gave 
her a house and garden during her life, so that she lived 
in far greater plenty than in her husband's life-time." 

Chap. 1. ver. 38. — A drought is upon her waters ; 
and they shall he dried up : for it is the land of 
graven images, and they are mad upon their idols. 

Cyrus having subdued the lesser Asia, as likewise Syria 
and Arabia, entered Assyria, and bent his march towards 
Babylon. The siege of this important place was no easy 
enterprise. The walls were of a prodigious height, the 
number of men to defend them very great, and the city 
stored with all sorts of provisions for twenty years. How- 
ever, these difficulties did not discourage Cyrus from prose- 
cuting his design ; who, after spending two entire years 
before the place, became master of it by stratagem. Upon 
a festival night, which the Babylonians were accustomed to 



370 JEREMIAH LTI. 

spend in drinking and debauchery, he ordered the bank of 
the canal, above the city, leading to the great lake, that had 
been lately dug by Nitocris, to be broken down ; and hav- 
ing thus diverted the course of the river, by turning the 
whole current into the lake, he caused his troops to march 
in by the bed of the river, who now penetrated into the 
heart of the city without opposition, surprised the guards 
of the palace, and cut them to pieces. The taking of Ba- 
bylon put an end to the Babylonian empire, and fulfilled 
the predictions which the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and 
Daniel, had uttered against that proud metropolis. 

Chap. li. ver. 17. — Every founder is confounded 
by the graven image : for his molten image is false- 
hood, and there is no breath in them. 

" In the monastery at Isenach," says Luther, ec stands 
an image which I have seen. "When a wealthy person 
came thither to pray to it, (it was Mary with her child,) 
the child turned away his face from the sinner to the mo- 
ther ; but if the sinner gave liberally to that monastery, 
then the child turned to him again ; and if he promised to 
give more, then the child showed itself very friendly and 
loving, and stretched out its arms over him in the form of 
a cross. But this picture and image was made hollow- 
within, and prepared with locks, lines, and screws ; and 
behind it stood a knave to move them, — and so were the 
people mocked and deceived, who took it to be a miracle 
wrought by Divine Providence !" 

Chap. lii. ver. 16. — Xebuzar-adan, the captain of 
the guard, left certain of the poor of the land for 
vine -dressers, and for husbandmen. 

The Rev. John Frederic Oberlin was distinguished by 
his charity and benevolence, and though scarcely a mendi- 
cant was ever seen in the valley of the Ban de la Roche, 
where he resided, sometimes a pauper from the neighbour- 
ing communes, attracted by the well-known disposition of 
the pastor and his people, wandered thither to implore that 
assistance which, if deserving, he never failed to receive. 
" Why do you not work ?" was Oberlin's usual interroga- 
tion. " Because no one will employ me," was the general 
reply. " Well, then, I will employ you. There — carry 



LAMENTATIONS II, 371 

these planks — break those stones — fill that bucket with 
water, and I will repay you for your trouble." Such was 
his usual mode of proceeding ; and idle beggars were taught 
to come there no more." 



LAMENTATIONS. 

Chap. i. ver. 7. — The adversaries did mock at her 
Sabbaths. 

The late Mr Meikle, surgeon in Carnwath, being on 
some business at Edinburgh, which detained him to the 
end of the week, and not finding himself so comfortably 
lodged as he could have desired, he rose early on Sabbath 
morning, and went out to the Meadows, that he might get 
an opportunity for devotional exercises. As he was sitting 
in the arbour, a young gentleman happened to come in, 
and by his singing and conversation, discovered a contempt 
for the Sabbath. Mr Meikle said to him, " My good Sir, 
I am just thinking on the fourth commandment, can you 
help me out with it ?" — " Indeed, Sir," said the gentle- 
man, " I cannot." — " Oh," said Mr M., 4 < I have it. 
1 Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." " The 
young gentleman felt the reproof, and retired, leaving Mr 
Meikle to proceed with his devotions. 

Chap. ii. ver. 16. — All thine enemies have opened 
their mouth against thee. 

One morning, as a minister, in one of the north-easterly 
cantons of France, was employed in his study, helieard a 
great noise in the village in which he resided. Rushing 
out, he perceived a foreigner, whom almost the whole po- 
pulation were loading with abusive and threatening lan- 
guage. " A Jew ! a Jew !" resounded on all sides, as 
the minister forced his way through the crowd ; and it was 
with difficulty that he could obtain silence. As soon, how- 
ever, as he could make himself heard, he rebuked them 
with great warmth for having proved themselves unworthy 
the name of Christians, by treating the unfortunate stranger 
in so cruel a manner. He added, that if this poor man 



o, 7 ^ LAMENTATIONS V. 

wanted the name of a Christian, they wanted the spirit of 
Christians. 

Chap. iii. ver. 39. — Wherefore doth a living man 
complain, a man for the punishment of his sins \ 

The Duke of Conde, when in poverty and retirement, 
was one day observed and pitied by a lord of Italy, who, 
out of tenderness, wished him to take better care of him- 
self. The good duke answered, " Sir, be not troubled ; 
and think not that I am ill provided of conveniences ; for 
I send a messenger before me, who makes ready my lodg- 
ings, and takes care that I be royally entertained." The 
noble lord asked him who was his messenger ? He replied, 
" The knowledge of myself; and the thoughts of what I 
deserve for my sins, which is eternal torments : and when, 
with this knowledge, I arrive at my lodging, how unpro- 
vided soever I find it, methinks it is better than I deserve : 
and as the sense of sin, which merits hell, sweetens present 
difficulties, so do the hopes of the heavenly kingdom." 

Chap. iv. ver. 3. — Even the sea-monsters draw out 
the breast, they give suck to their young ones. 

The natural affection of animals appears in the following 
instance. A whale and her young one had got into an arm 
of the sea, where the tide nearly left them. The people 
on the shore beheld their situation, and came down upon 
them in boats, attacking them with such weapons as could 
be hastily collected. The animals were soon severely 
wounded, and the sea coloured with their blood. After 
several attempts to escape, the old one forced her way over 
the shallow into deep water. But though in safety herself, 
she could not bear the danger that threatened her young 
one ; she therefore rushed once more to the place where it 
was confined, and appeared resolved, if she could not pro- 
tect, to share its danger. As the tide was then running 
in, both of the creatures made their escape, though not 
without receiving a great number of wounds in every part. 

Chap. v. ver. 8. — Servants have ruled over us ; 
there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. 

" In visiting one of the gardens, for which Rosetta, in 
Egypt, is famous," says Jowett, in his Christian Researches. 



u we had a singular specimen of the effect of oppression. 
Seeing fine fruit on every side, but finding the oranges to 
be of the sour kind, we asked the gardener for some that 
were sweet. He at first denied that he had any. Our 
guide told us to show him money. At the sight of this, 
he produced some delicious oranges. As we peeled them, 
and ate, he gathered up the peel, and buried it in the 
earth, in order that soldiers coming into his garden, might 
not see the trace of sweet oranges, and compel him to give 
them some." 



EZEKIEL. 

Chap. i. vcr. 10. — They four had the face of a 
man, and the face of a lion on the right side ; and 
they four had the face of an ox on the left side ; they 
four also had the face of an eagle. 

The Rev. William Wilson of Perth, and some of his 
friends, were, on one occasion, enjoying themselves with 
some innocent pleasantry, by proposing severally to what 
they might compare the Four Brethren, with whom the 
Secession in Scotland originated. Different comparisons 
were suggested. When it came to Mr Wilson's turn, he 
did not see any thing they could be better compared to 
than the four living creatures in EzekiePs vision. " Our 
brother, Mr Erskine," said he, " has the face of a man. 
Our friend Mr MoncriefF, has the face of a lion. Our 
neighbour Mr Fisher, has the face of an eagle. And as 
for myself, I think you will all own that 1 may claim to 
be the ox ; for, as you know, the laborious part of the 
business falls to my share." 

Chap. ii. ver. 7. — Thou shalt speak my words unto 
them, whether they will hear, or whether they will 
forbear. 

The late Dr Ritchie, Professor of Divinity in the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh, was one day preaching in Tarbolton 
church, where he was at that time minister, against profane 
swearing in common conversation, while one of his princi- 
pal heritors who was addicted to that sin was present. This 
2 1 



374 EZEKIEL III. 

gentleman thought the sermon was designedly addressed to 
him, and that the eyes of the whole congregation were fixed 
upon him. Though he felt indignant, he kept his place 
till the service was concluded, and then waited on the 
preacher, and asked him to dine with him, as he was quite 
alone. The invitation being accepted, the gentleman im- 
mediately after dinner thus addressed the minister— u Sir, 
you have insulted me to-day in the church. I have been 
three times in church lately, and on every one of them you 
have been holding me up to the derision of the audience ; 
so I tell you, Sir, I shall never more enter the church of 
Tarbolton again, unless you give me your solemn promise, 
that you will abstain from such topics in future, as I am re- 
solved, I shall no more furnish you with the theme of your 
discourse." Mr Ritchie heard this speech to a conclusion 
with calmness, and then looking him stedfastly in the face, 
thus replied, u Very well, Sir, if you took to yourself what 
I said to-day against swearing, does not your conscience 
bear witness to its truth ? You say you will not enter the 
church till I cease to reprove your sins ; if such is your 
determination, it is impossible you can enter it again ; for, 
which of the commandments have you not broken ?" On 
observing his firmness, and feeling that he was wrong in 
attempting to make the minister of the parish compromise his 
duty, the gentleman held out his hand to Mr Ritchie ; a 
mutual explanation took place ; and while the minister 
would abate none of his faithfulness, the heritor endeavour- 
ed to overcome his evil habits. 

Chap. iii. ver. 26. — I will make thy tongue cleave 
to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, 
and shalt not be to them a reprover. 

The Rev. William Tennant, formerly a very eminent 
minister of the gospel in New England, once took much 
pains to prepare a sermon to convince a celebrated infidel. 
But, in attempting to deliver this laboured discourse, Mr 
T. was so confused, that he was obliged to stop, and close 
the service by prayer. This unexpected failure in one 
who had so often astonished the unbeliever with the force 
of his eloquence, led the infidel to reflect that Mr T. had 
been at other times aided by a divine power. This reflec- 
tion proved the means of his conversion. Thus God ac- 
complished by silence, what his servant meant to effect by 



EZEKIEL VI. 8J5 

persuasive preaching. Mr Tennant used afterwards to say, 
" His dumb sermon was the most profitable sermon that 
he had ever delivered. 1 ' 

Chap. iv. ver. 6. — Thou shalt bear the iniquity of 
the house of Judah forty days : I have appointed thee 
each day for a year. 

Usher, afterwards Archbishop of Armagh, was very zeal- 
ous against the Roman Catholics, and averse to tolerating 
them. He once preached before the officers of the Irish 
government, from the preceding text. In the course of his 
sermon, he made an application of the passage which was 
remarkable. " Prom this year (1601)," said he, " I 
reckon forty years ; and then those whom you now embrace, 
shall be your ruin, and you shall bear their iniquity." The 
apparent accomplishment of this prediction in the Irish re- 
bellion of 1641, was a singular occurrence; and, in the 
opinion of many, perhaps in his own, was regarded as an 
indication of his prophetic spirit. 

Chap. v. ver. 1. — Take thee a barber's razor, and 
cause it to pass upon thine head, and upon thy beard. 

The Mahometans have a very great respect for their 
beards, and think it criminal to shave. " Conversing one 
day with a Turk," says Dr Clarke, " who was playing 
with his beard, I asked him, ( Why do you not cut off 
your beard as we Europeans do ?' To which he replied, 
with great emotion, c Cut off my beard ! — Why should I ? 
—God forbid !' " 

Chap. vj. ver. 9. — They shall loathe themselves 
for the evils they have committed. 

The Rev. Ralph Erskine, when rebuking a person be- 
fore the congregation, for some scandalous offence, said, — 
" Think upon the case you are in, and meditate on the 
misery you have exposed yourself unto ; for God will deal 
with you either in mercy or in wrath. If he deal with you 
in mercy, then you will surely find more bitterness in sin 
than ever you found pleasure in it; and if he deal with 
you in wrath, you will find sin, like a mountain of lead, 
weighing you down to the bottom of hell for ever. The 
Lord make you wise to salvation, that you may flee from 
the wrath to come." 



376 EZEKIEL IX. 

Chap. vii. ver. 19.— Their silver and their go! J 
shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the 
wrath of the Lord. 

Mr Jeremiah Burroughs, a pious minister, mentions the 
case of a rich man, who, when he lay on his sick-bed, 
called for his bags of money ; and having laid a bag of 
gold to his heart, after a little, he bade them take it away, 
saying, " It will not do ! it will not do !" 

Chap, viii. ver. 14. — He brought me to the door of 
the Lord's house which was toward the north ; and, 
behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 

The ancient Greeks, we are informed, used to place 
their dead near the doors of their houses, and to attend 
them with mourning. The same custom still continues 
among the modern Greeks, and might, perhaps, be ob- 
served by the ancient Jews. Dr Richard Chandler, when 
travelling in Greece, observed, at Megara, a woman sit- 
ting, with the door of her cottage open, lamenting her 
dead husband aloud ; and when at Zante, he saw a wo- 
man in a house with the door open, bewailing her little 
son, whose body lay beside her dressed, the hair powdered, 
the face painted, and bedecked with leaf-gold. 

Chap. ix. ver. 6. — Slay utterly old and young", 
both maids, and little children, and women ; but 
come not near any man upon whom is the mark. 

Beza, a little before his death, declared to his christian 
friends, that the Lord had fulfilled to him all the promises 
contained in the ninety-first psalm, which he heard ex- 
pounded, when a young man, in the church. As he had 
been enabled to close with the second verse, in taking the 
Lord for his God, and got a sure claim that he would be 
his u refuge and fortress," so he had found remarkably, 
in the after changes of his life, that the Lord had ;< de- 
livered him from the snare of the fowler," for he had been 
in frequent hazard by the lying in wait of many to ensnare 
him ; and from the c: noisome pestilence," for he was 
sometimes in great hazard from it, in those places where 
he was called to reside. Amidst the civil wars in France, 
he had most signal deliverances from many imminent dan. 
gers, when he was called to be present sometimes with the 



EZEKIEL XI. 377 

Protestant princes upon the field, where " thousands did 
fall about him." On his death-bed, he found that psalm 
so observably verified, on which he was caused to hope, 
that he went through all the promises in it, declaring the 
comfortable accomplishment of them, how he had found 
the " Lord giving his angels charge over him, often an- 
swering him when he called on him ; how he had been 
with him in trouble, had delivered him, and had satisfied 
him with long life." " And now," says he, " I have no 
more to wait for, but the fulfilling of these last words of 
the psalm — c I will show him my salvation,' — which, with 
confidence, I wait for." 

Chap. x. ver. 18. — The glory of the Lord departed 
from off the threshold of the house, and stood over 
the cherubim. 

It appears from the Rev. H. Lindsay's interesting letter 
to the Bible Society in 1816, in which he gives an account 
of his visit to the Seven Churches of Asia, that even in 
those places, where the light of the gospel first shone, the 
inhabitants were not only destitute of the Bible, but they 
had also no distinct idea of the books it contained. They 
mentioned them indiscriminately, with various idle legends 
and lives of saints. Leaving Smyrna, the first place Mr 
Lindsay visited was Ephesus. u I found there," says he, 
€ f but three Christians ; two brothers, who keep a shop, 
and a gardener. They are all three Greeks, and their ig- 
norance is lamentable indeed. In that place which was 
blessed so long with an apostle's labours, and those of his 
zealous assistants, are Christians, who have not so much 
as heard of that apostle, or seem only to recognise the name 
of Paul as one in the calendar of their saints." 

Chap. xi. ver. 19. — I will take the stony heart out 
of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh. 

The holiest and best men have been usually the most 
ready to acknowledge the natural depravity of their hearts, 
and the greatness of their obligations to the free and sove- 
reign grace of God, in preserving or delivering them from 
the consequences of that depravity. — During the ministry 
of the Rev. Ralph Erskine at Dunfermline, a man was 
executed for robbery, whom lie repeatedly visited in prison, 
2 i 2 



378 EZEKIEL XIII. 

and whom he attended on the scaffold. Mr Erskine ad- 
dressed both the spectators and the criminal ; and, after 
concluding his speech, he laid his hands on his breast, ut- 
tering these words — " But for restraining grace, I had 
been brought, by this corrupt heart, to the same condition 
with this unhappy man." 

Chap. xii. ver. 2. — -They have ears to hear, and 
hear not. 

An inn-keeper, addicted to intemperance, on hearing of 
the particularly pleasing mode of singing at a church some 
miles distant, went to gratify his curiosity, but with a re- 
solution not to hear a word of the sermon. Having with 
difficulty found admission into a narrow open pew, as soon 
as the hymn before sermon was sung, which he heard with 
great attention, he secured both his ears against the sermon 
with his fore-fingers. — Re had not been in this position 
many minutes, before the prayer finished, and the sermon 
commenced with an awful appeal to the consciences of the 
hearers, of the necessity of attending to the things which 
were made for their everlasting peace ; and the minister 
addressing them solemnly, " He that hath ears to hear, let 
him hear." Just the moment before these words were pro- 
nounced, a fly had fastened on the face of the inn-keeper, 
and, stinging him sharply, he drew one of his fingers from 
his ears, and struck off the painful visitant. At that very 
moment, the words, " He that hath ears to hear, let him 
hear," pronounced with great solemnity, entered the ear 
that was opened as a clap of thunder : it struck him with 
irresistible force : he kept his hand from returning to his 
ear, and, feeling an impression he had never known before, 
he presently withdrew the other finger, and hearkened with 
deep attention to the discourse which followed. A salutary 
change was produced on him. He abandoned his former 
wicked practices, became truly serious, and for many years 
went all weathers six miles to the church where he first 
received the knowledge of divine things. After about 
eighteen years' faithful and close walk with God, he died 
rejoicing in the hope of that glory which he now enjoys. 

Chap. xiii. ver. 3. — Woe nnto the foolish prophets, 
that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing. 
In a letter to a friend, Mr Hervey says, cc Warburton 



KZEKIEL XV. 379 

has published two volumes, of sermons, in which, it seems, 
he has decried experimental religion, disregarded the pecu- 
liarities of the gospel, and treated the operations of the 
Spirit as mere enthusiasm. If this be the effect of his 
great learning, then, good Lord, deliver us all, say I, from 
such an attainment ! If you either have or can borrow 
them, just let me peep on them. Don't buy them to gra- 
tify me ; I can relish nothing but what is evangelical." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 10. — They shall bear the punish- 
merit of their iniquity. 

" I have read of King Canute," says an excellent mi- 
nister, " that he promised to make him the highest man in 
England who should kill King Edmund his rival ; which, 
when one had performed, and expected his reward, he 
commanded him to be hung on the highest tower in Lon- 
don. So Satan promises great things to people in pursuit 
of their lusts, but he puts them off with great mischief. 
The promised crown turns to a halter; the promised com- 
fort, to a torment; the promised honour, into shame ; the 
promised consolation, into desolation ; and the promised 
heaven turns into a hell." 

Chap. xv. ver. 7. — I will set my face against the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem ; they shall go out from one 
fire, and another fire shall devour them. 

" There was," says Josephus, "one Jesus, son of Ana- 
nias, a countryman of mean birth, four years before the 
war against the Jews, at a time when all was in deep peaca 
and tranquillity, who, coming up to the feast of tabernacles, 
according to the custom, began on a sudden to cry out, and 
say, ' A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice 
from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the 
temple, a voice against bridegrooms and brides, a voice 
against all the people.' Thus ho went about all the nar- 
row lanes, crying night and day : and being apprehended 
and scourged, he still continued the same language under 
the blows without any other word. And they, upon this, 
supposing (as it was) that it was seme divine motion, 
brought him to the Roman prefect : and, by his appoint- 
ment, being wounded by whips, and the flesh torn to the 
bones, he neither entreated, nor shed a tear ; but to every 



380 E2EKIEL XVIII. 

blow, in a most lamentable, mournful note, cried 01U, 
' Woe, woe to Jerusalem.' This he continued to do till 
the time of the siege, seven years together ; and, at last, to 
his extraordinary note of woe to the city, the people, the 
temple, adding, c Woe also to me ;' a stone from the bat- 
tlements fell down upon him, and killed him." 

Chap. xvi. ver. 44. — As is the mother, so is her 
daughter. 

A minister in the country, who frequently visited a 
widow lady with one daughter, always heard sad complaints 
from her mother, that her daughter was fond of public 
amusements. One day when this was repeated, the daugh- 
ter said, " Mother, who took me first to these places ?" 
Conscience did its office : the mother was silent, and no 
more was said on the subject. 

Chap. xvii. ver. 3. — A great eagle with great wings 
— came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch 
of the cedar. 

C( It is not to be expected," Harmer observes, u that the 
visionary representations made to the prophets should al~ 
ways coincide with natural history ; but it seems this does, 
(referring to the preceding passage,) ' We employed the 
rest of the day,' says La Roque, in speaking of the spot 
where the cedars of Lebanon grow, ' in attentively survey- 
itig the beauties of this place, and of its neighbourhood, in 
measuring some of the cedars, and in cutting off many of 
their branches, with their cones, which we sent to Bsciarrai, 
with a number of large eagles' feathers, which were found 
in the same place.' " 

Chap, xviii. ver. 10. — If he beget a son that is a 
robber, a shedder of blood. 

A boy in London, of thirteen years of age, having been 
left at home one day with a servant, while his parents were 
gone out, took an opportunity to rob a drawer of a consi- 
derable quantity of silver. His father, next day, detected 
the theft, and reproved him for such shameful conduct, 
when the wretched boy obtaining possession of a loaded 
pistol belonging to his father, put a period to his life with 
it ; in consequence of which, his body was ordered to be 



EZEKIEL XXI. SSI 

buried in the public street. He was of a very morose dis- 
position, and disobedient to his parents. 

Chap. xix. ver. 8, 9. — The nations set against him 
on every side from the provinces, and spread their 
net over him : he was taken in their pit. — And they 
put him in ward in chains. 

Bonaparte, after a career of conquest and blood, wa3 
completely subdued by the combined Powers of Russia, 
Prussia, Austria, and Britain. After the decisive battle 
of Waterloo, he retreated with precipitation to Paris ; but 
being followed by the allies, he quitted that capital, and 
went to Rochefort, where vessels were prepared to carry 
him and his attendants to America. The British govern- 
ment, however, informed of his plan, blockaded this part of 
the French coast so effectually, that he found himself com- 
pelled to surrender to Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon, 
the commander of the blockading squadron. In this ship 
he was brought to the coast of England, but not suffered to 
land; and about the middle of August 1815, he sailed 
with part of his suite, in the Northumberland, to the Island 
of St Helena, where he was kept a prisoner at large during 
the remainder of his life. He died 5th May 1821. 

Chap. xx. ver. 21. — They polluted my Sabbaths : 
then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them. 

Some time ago, IV. P , a lad who had formerly at- 
tended a Sabbath school, engaged to go with some com- 
panions a-fishing on a Lord's day. Though it rained 
very hard, and he was desired not to go, yet, bent on pur- 
suing his own course, he went notwithstanding. They came 
to the river, where they agreed to stop, and they began their 
unhallowed sport, and continued for some time, not think- 
ing of any danger, when W. P , wishing to obtain a 

better place, tried to jump from the spot where he stood 
to another ; but, in doing so, his foot slipped, he struck his 
head against a barge, and fell into the river ; and, after 
being sought fur some time, was found, and taken out a 
lifeless corpse. Let Sabbath-breakers take warning by this 
young man's unhappy end. The way of transgressors is 
hard. 

Chap. xxi. ver. 21. — The king of Babylon stood at 



382 EZEKIEL XXIII. 

the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, 
to use divination : he made his arrows bright. 

Delia Vella relates the following method of divination by 
arrows. " He saw at Aleppo a Mahometan, who caused 
two persons to sit upon the ground, one opposite to the 
other, and gave them four arrows into their hands, which 
both of them held with their points downwards, and, as it 
were, in two right lines, united one to the other. Then a 
question being put to him about any business, he fell to 
murmur his enchantments, and thereby caused the said four 
arrows, of their own accord, to unite their points together 
in the midst, (though he that held them stirred not his 
hand,) and according to the future event of the matter, 
those of the right side were placed over those of the left, or 
on the contrary." This practice Delia Vella refers to dia- 
bolical influence. 

Chap. xxii. ver. 8. — Thou hast despised mine holy 
things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths. 

The following fact, communicated by a respectable mer- 
chant of New York, is well worthy of notice : — cc I have 
particularly observed," says the gentleman, " that those 
merchants in New York, who have kept their counting- 
rooms open on the Sabbath-day, during my residence there, 
(twenty-five years,) have failed without exception." 

Chap, xxiii. ver. 38. — They have defiled my sanc- 
tuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sab- 
baths. 

In the church-yard of Devizes, is a monument with the 
following inscription : — 

" In Memory 

Of the unfortunate end of 

Eobert Merrit, and Susannah, his wife ; Elizabeth Tiley 

her sister ; Martha Carter, and Joseph Derham, 

Who were all drowned in the flower of their youth, 

In a pond near the town called Drews, 

On Sunday the 30th June ; 

And are together underneath entombed." 

On another part of the stone is added — 

u Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. 

This Monument, as an awful monitor to young people, 

To remember their Creator in the days of their youth, 

Waa erected by subscription." 



E2EKIEL XXVI. 385 

Chap, xxiv. ver. 18.— So I spake unto the people 
ill the morning : and at even my wife died. 

Mr Matthew Henry's first wife was seized with the small- 
pox, when in child-bed, and died. Mr Tong, the writer 
of his life, though living at a distance of eighteen miles, 
immediately visited the sorrowing family. The first words 
Mr Henry spoke to him on this occasion, with many tears, 
were, " I know nothing could support me under such a 
loss as this, but the good hope I have that she is gone to 
heaven, and that in a little time I shall follow her thither." 

Chap. xxv. ver. 7. — I will stretch out mine hand 
upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the 
heathen ; and I will cut thee off from the people, and 
I will cause thee to perish out of the countries. 

Chateaubriand, the French traveller, speaking of the 
range of mountains that extend from north to south, east 
of the Jordan, together with the contiguous country, says, 
" Nothing is to be seen but black perpendicular rocks, 
which throw their lengthened shadow over the waters of the 
Dead Sea. The smallest bird of heaven would not find 
among the rocks a blade of grass for its sustenance ; every 
thing there announces the country of a reprobate people, 
and seems to breathe the horror and incest whence sprung 
Amnion and Moab." 

Chap. xxvi. ver. 14. — I will make thee like the top 
of a rock : thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon. 

" The famous Heutius," says Bishop Newton in his 
Dissertations, "knew one Hadrianus Parvillerius, a Jesuit, 
a very candid man, and a master of Arabic, who resided 
ten years in Syria ; and he remembers to have heard him 
sometimes say, that when he approached the ruins of Tyre, 
and beheld the rocks stretched forth to the sea, and the 
great stones scattered up and down on the shore, made clean 
and smooth by the sun, and waves, and winds, and useful 
only for the drying of fishermen's nets, many of which hap- 
pened at that time to be spread thereon, it brought to his 
memory this prophecy of Ezekiel concerning Tyre — ( I will 
make thee like the top of a rock : thou shalt be a place to 
spread nets upon ; thou shalt be built no more ; for I the 
Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.' " 



384 EZEKIKL XXIX. 

Chap, xxvii. ver. 32.— They shall lament over 
thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the de- 
stroyed in the midst of the sea ? 

Mr Maundrell, in his " Journey from Aleppo to Jeru- 
salem," describing Tyre, says, " This city, standing in 
the sea upon a peninsula, promises at a distance, something 
very magnificent. But when you come to it, you find no 
similitude of that glory, for which it was so renowned in 
ancient times, and which the prophet Ezekiel describes. 
On the north side it has an old Turkish ungarrisoned cas- 
tle ; besides which, you see nothing here but a mere Babel 
of broken walls, pillars, vaults, &c, there being not so 
much as one entire house left : its present inhabitants are 
only a few poor wretches, harbouring themselves in the 
vaults, and subsisting chiefly upon fishing, who seem to 
be preserved in this place by Divine Providence, as a visi- 
ble argument how God has fulfilled his word concerning 
Tyre, viz., that c it should be as the top of a reck, a place 
for fishers to dry their nets on.' " 

Chap, xxviii. ver. 5. — By thy great wisdom, and 
by thy traffic, hast thou increased thy riches, and 
thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches. 

In the strait between Johor and Rhio, there is a small 
white rock, called the " White Stone," very little elevated 
above the water, and so exactly in the centre of the pas- 
sage, that many vessels, unacquainted with it, have been 
wrecked upon it. A Portuguese merchant passing this 
strait, in a vessel of his own, richly laden with gold, and 
other valuable commodities, asked the pilot when this rock 
would be passed ; but each moment appearing to him long 
until he was secure from the danger, he repeated his ques- 
tion so often, that the pilot impatiently told him the rock 
was passed. The merchant, transported with joy, impi- 
ously exclaimed, that " God could not now make him 
poor." But in a little while, the vessel struck on the 
White Stone, and all his wealth was engulphed in the 
abyss : life alone remained, to make him feci his misery 
and his punishment. 

Chap, xxix, ver. 3. — Pharaoh hath said, My river 
is mine own, and I have made it for myself. 



EZEKIEL XXXI. 385 

When the force of the current had carried away the tem- 
porary bridge which Xerxes had caused to be thrown over 
the Hellespont, on his grand expedition into Greece, he 
was so enraged, that he not only ordered the heads of the 
workmen to be struck off, but, like a madman, inflicted 
lashes upon the sea, to punish it for its insolence : he, 
moreover, affected to hold it in future under his control, 
by throwing fetters into it ! " A striking proof," adds the 
historian, " how much the possession of despotic power 
tends not only to corrupt the heart, but even to weaken and 
blind the understanding." 

Chap. xxx. ver. 13. — I will also destroy the idols, 
and I will cause their images to cease. 

One day, while Mr Wilson was teaching the people of 
Raiatea, a South Sea island, an old man stood up, and 
exclaimed, " My forefathers worshipped Oro, the god of 
war, and so have I ; nor shall any thing you can say per- 
suade me to forsake this way. And," continued he, ad- 
dressing the missionary, " what do you want more than 
you have already ? Have you not won over such a chief, 
and such a chief ? — aye, and you have Pomare himself ! 
— what want you more ?" — a All — all the people of Raia- 
tea, and you yourself, I want !" replied Mr Wilson. 
" No, no," cried the old man ; " me ! — you shall never 
have me ! I will do as my fathers have done : — I will 
worship Oro : you shall never have me, I assure you." 
Yet, within six months from that time, this staunch, in- 
flexible, inveterate adherent of the bloody superstition of 
Oro (the Moloch of the Pacific) abandoned his idol, and 
became a worshipper of the true God. 

Chap. xxxi. ver. 14. — They are all delivered unto 
death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst 
of the children of men, with them that go down to 
the pit. 

A Sultan amusing himself with walking, observed a der- 
vise sitting with a human skull in his lap, and appearing 
to be in a very profound reverie. His attitude and manner 
surprised the Sultan, who demanded the cause of his being 
so deeply engaged in reflection. u Sire," said the dervise, 
<( this skull was presented to mc this morning ; and I have 
2k 



3&6 EZEKIEL XXXIV. 

from that moment been endeavouring, in vain, to discover 
whether it is the skull of a powerful monarch, like your 
Majesty, or of a poor dervise like myself." — A humbling 
consideration truly ! 

•* Earth's highest station ends in— Here he ties ; 
And dust to dust concludes her noblest song." 

Cliap. xxii. ver. 25. — Though their terror was 
caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne 
their shame with them that go down to the pit : he 
is put in the midst of them that be slain. 

Philip, King of Macedon, as he was wrestling at the 
Olympic games, fell down in the sand ; and, when he rose 
again, observing the print of his body in the sand, cried 
out, u O how little a parcel of earth will hold us, when 
we are dead, who are ambitiously seeking after the whole 
world whilst we are living !*' 

Chap, xxxiii. ver. 10. — If our transgressions and 
our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how 
should we then live ? 

A minister of the gospel, when preaching from the pre- 
ceding text, said, " I knew a poor widow who had got into 
a little debt that was a burden upon her, which she could 
not remove, just as sin is a debt or burden upon the con- 
science, which no man is able to cast off. Well, what 
could the widow do ? Her language to herself was, c How 
can I live with this burden ? My little furniture, — my 
all will be sold ! — T must go to the workhouse, where I 
must mix with bad people, who know not my Saviour, and 
who take his name in vain ! A benevolent individual hear- 
ing of her distress, sent to the creditor, desiring him to 
bring a receipt in full, and he should have his money. 
He took the receipt, and gave it to the widow. c O,' said 
she, ' now J shall live ! I shall live /' — This little story 
the minister applied, in the most simple manner, to the 
atonement of Christ, and his payment of the debt of his 
people. 

Chap, xxxiv. ver. 3. — Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe 
you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed : but ye 
feed not the flock. 

As one of the Princes of Orange was passing through a 



EZEKIEL XXXVI. 387 

village one Sabbath-day, he asked the people, " Who is 
the man in black playing at tennis ?" He was answered, 
" The man who has the care of our souls." — " Good peo- 
ple," said the Prince, " is this the man who has the care 
of your souls ? You had best then look about you, and 
take a little care of them yourselves." 

Chap. xxxv. ver. 5. — Thou hast had a perpetual 
hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of 
Israel by the force of the sword. 

Among the Circassians, the spirit of resentment is so 
strong, that all the relatives of the murderer are considered 
as guilty. This customary infatuation to avenge the blood 
of relatives, generates most of the feuds, and occasions great 
bloodshed among all the tribes of Caucasus ; for unless 
pardon be purchased, or obtained by intermarriage between 
the two families, the principle of revenge is propagated to 
all succeeding generations. The hatred which the moun- 
tainous nations evince against the Russians, arises, in a 
great measure, from the same source. If the thirst of ven- 
geance is quenched by a price paid to the family of the 
deceased, this tribute is called ThliUUasa^ or the price of 
blood ; but neither princes nor Usdens accept of such a 
compensation, as it is an established law among them, to 
demand blood for blood. 

Chap, xxxvi. ver. 26. — A new heart also will I 
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you : 
and I will take away the stony heart out of your 
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 

The late Mr Reader of Taunton, having called one day, 
in the course of his pastoral visits, at the house of a friend, 
affectionately noticed a child in the room, a little girl about 
six years of age. — Among other things, he asked her if she 
knew that she had a bad heart, and opening the Bible, 
pointed her to the passage where the Lord promises to give 
a new heart. He entreated her to plead this promise in 
prayer, and she would find the Almighty faithful to his 
engagement. About seventeen years after, a lady came to 
him, to propose herself for communion with the church, 
and how inexpressible was his delight, when he found that 



388 EZEKIEL XXXIX. 

she was the very person with whom, when a child, he had 
so freely conversed on subjects of religion, and that the 
conversation was blessed for her conversion to God. Tak- 
ing her Bible, she had retired, as he advised, pleaded the 
promise, wept, and prayed ; and the Lord, in answer to her 
fervent petitions, gave her what she so earnestly desired— 
a new heart. 

Chap, xxxvii. ver. 5. — Thus saith the Lord God 
unto these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter 
into you, and ye shall live. 

" I remember," says Rowland Hill, u once conversing 
with a celebrated sculptor, who had been hewing out a 
block of marble to represent one of our great patriots — 
Lord Chatham. 6 There,' said he ; 'is not that a fine 
form ?' — c Now, Sir,' said I, ' can you put life into it ? 
else, with all its beauty, it is still but a block of marble.' 
Christ, by his Spirit, puts life into a beauteous image, and 
enables the man He forms to live to his praise and glory." 

Chap, xxxviii. ver. 10. — Things shall come into 
thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought. 

Nicholson, the murderer of Mr and Mrs Bonar, at 
Chiselhurst, in Kent, who paid the forfeit of his life to the 
violated laws of his country, declared solemnly in writing, 
after sentence of death was passed upon him, that he had no 
previous malice towards the parties, nor intention to mur- 
der them, five minutes before he committed the horrid deed ; 
but that suddenly, as he awoke, the thought suggested it- 
self to his mind, and which he can only account for by 
confessing, 6 .' that he had long lived in Utter forgetfulness 
of God, and was in the habit of giving way to the worst 
passions of the human heart.'" 

Chap, xxxix. ver. 21. — I will set my glory among 
the heathen. 

Mr Stewart, in describing a worshipping assembly at 
Hido, one of the Sandwich islands, says, " At an early hour 
of the morning, even before we had taken our breakfast on 
board ship, a single islander here or there, or a group of 
three or four, wrapped in their large mantles of various 
hues, might be seen winding their way among the groves 



EZEKIEL XLI. 389 

fringing their bay on the east, or descending from the hills 
and ravine on the north, towards the chapel ; and by de- 
grees their numbers increased, till in a short time, every 
path along the beach, and over the uplands, presented an 
almost uninterrupted procession of both sexes, and of every 
age, all pressing to the house of God. So few canoes were 
round the ship yesterday, and the landing-place had been 
so little thronged, as our boats passed to and fro, that one 
might have thought the district but thinly inhabited ; but 
now such multitudes were seen gathering from various di- 
rections, that the exclamation, ' what crowds of people I 
what crowds of people V was heard from the quarter-deck 
to the forecastle. — What a change — what a happy change ! 
when at this very place, only four years ago, the known 
wishes and example of chiefs of high authority, the daily 
persuasion of teachers, added to motives of curiosity and 
novelty, could scarce induce a hundred of the inhabitants 
to give an irregular, careless, and impatient attendance on 
the services of the sanctuary : but now, 

'* Like mountain torrents pouring to the main, 
From every glen a living stream came forth ; 
From every hill in crowds they hastened down, 
To worship Him who deigns in humblest fane, 
On wildest shore, to meet the upright in heart." 

Chap. xl. ver. 4. — Declare all that thou seest to 
the house of Israel. 

The late Rev. David Brown of Calcutta was remarkable 
for a deeply serious and impressive manner in preaching, 
which had perhaps a greater force than his words : of 
this, a sensible hearer once observed, u Whosoever may not 
believe as Mr Brown preaches, he makes it impossible to 
suspect he does not believe so himself; for which reason 
alone we cannot but be attentive hearers, when we see 
him evidently so much in earnest. " 

Chap. xli. ver. 22. — This is the table that is before 
the Lord. 

Mr Oliver Heywood had been settled at Coley in Eng- 
land, for seven years, during which time the Lord's Supper 
was not administered, nor, indeed, had been so for nine years 
previous to his settlement. He was deeply affected with 
the omission ; and having long revolved the subject in his 
2 k 2 



390 EZEKItL XLII1. 

mind, he was now determined to re-establish the divine in- 
stitution in his chapel. He foresaw that difficulties would 
arise, as he could not conscientiously admit all persons in- 
discriminately to the table of the Lord. In a prudent and 
cautious manner, he gradually introduced the subject to 
the notice of his people, by preaching a course of sermons 
on the uature, obligations, and advantages of the ordinance, 
and the qualifications of candidates. After having prepar- 
ed the way, he at length announced his intention, and pro- 
posed that application should be made to him personally 
by all who desired to participate in this feast of love. Con- 
siderable numbers applied, and the conversations he held 
with them were mutually beneficial and gratifying. Their 
names were entered as candidates. After having prepar- 
ed the way, he at length announced, that if any objection 
should be taken against individuals, he might be informed 
of it previous to the administration. Some of his hearers 
and warmest admirers, whose lives did no honour to their 
professions, took offence at the proceeding, and declared that 
they would come to the table and participate in the ordi- 
nance. Their courage, however, failed them after hearing 
the " preparation sermon." The ordinance was at length 
administered ; and great was the joy experienced both by 
Mr Heywood and the communicants on this occasion. It 
was a season of " refreshing from the presence of the Lord," 
and a day long to be remembered. 

Chap. xlii. ver. 13. — The place is holy. 

A scoffing infidel, of considerable talents, being once in 
company with a person of truly religious character, put the 
following question to him : — " I understand, Sir, that you 
expect to go to heaven when you die : can you tell me 
what sort of a place heaven is ?" — " Yes, Sir," replied the 
Christian, " heaven is a prepared place for a prepared 
people, and if your soul is not prepared for it, with all 
your boasted wisdom, you will never enter there." 

Chap, xliii. ver. 11. — Write it in their sight, that 
they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the 
ordinances thereof, and do them. 

The church at Turvey, in which Mr Legh Richmond of- 
ficiated, had a most appropriate selection of texts of Scripture 



EZEKIEL XLVI. 3gl 

inscribed on its walls, chosen by him with great care, and 
exhibiting a complete system of divinity. "'I wish,*' 
said Mr Richmond, " when I can no longer preach to my 
flock, that the walls should remind them of what they have 
heard from me. The eye, though wandering in thought- 
less vacancy, may catch something to affect the heart." 

Chap. xliv. ver. 12. — They caused the house of 
Israel to fall into iniquity. 

" Stepping," says one/ ' into a Hackney stage in London 
one Saturday evening, I perceived a decent-looking young 
woman had already taken her seat. In the course of a 
little conversation, it appeared that she was a Jewess, who 
had that day been at the synagogue, and was returning to 
Hackney, where she resided. Being, at that time, a He- 
brew student myself, I was pleased with the opportunity of 
conversing with this young person, on the subject of the 
Hebrew language, which she seemed to understand. The 
pleasure of the conversation, however, was interrupted by 
the circumstance of her occasionally taking God's name 
in vain. This led me to observe to her, that I was much 
surprised that she should thus take the Lord's name in 
vain, in English, since I understood the Jews professed 
such a peculiar veneration for the Hebrew name, Jehovah, 
that they used another word in its place in reading their 
own Scriptures. The answer which she returned was, 
4 The Christians do so.* " 

Chap. xlv. ver. 12. — The shekel shall be twenty 
gerahs : twenty shekels, five and twe nty shekels, 
fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. 

In a MS., to which Mr Harmer often refers, it is stated, 
that it is the custom of the East, in their accounts and their 
reckonings of a sum of money, to specify the different parts 
of which it is composed. Talking after this manner, I owe 
twenty.five — of which the half is twelve and one-half, the 
quarter six and one- fourth, &c. This appears very strange 
to us ; but if it was the custom of those countries, it is no 
wonder that Ezekiel reckoned after this manner. 

Chap. xlvi. ver. 12. — They shall prepare the lamb, 
and the meat-offering, and the oil, every morning, 
for a continual burnt-offering. 



$9% EZEKIEL XLVIII. 

The morning and evening sacrifice under the law, has 
often been referred to as emblematical of the morning and 
evening sacrifices of prayer and praise presented by Chris- 
tians under the gospel, through faith in the Redeemer ; 
and it is matter of regret that these should, in many in- 
stances, be altogether neglected, and in others, but occa- 
sionally attended to. In the following case, a reproof for 
an omission of family prayer, comes from an unexpected 
quarter : — 

" I knew a man," says an author, " who once received 
one of the most severe reproofs he ever met with from his 
own child, an infant of three years old. Family prayer 
had been, by some means, neglected one morning, and the 
child was, as it were, out of his element. At length he 
came to his father as he sat, and just as the family were 
going to dinner, the little reprover, leaning on his father's 
knee, said, with a sigh, ' Pa, you were used to goto prayer 
with us, but you did not to-day.''— c No, my dear,' said 
the parent, ; I did not.' — ' But, pa, you ought ; why did 
you not ?' In short, the father had not a word to reply, and 
the child's rebuke was as appropriate and effectual, . as if it 
had been administered by the most able minister in the 
land ; and, it may be added, had as permanent an influ- 
ence." 

Chap, xlvii. ver. 10. — Their fish shall he accord- 
ing to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea. exceed- 
ing many. 

Doubdan, speaking of his going by sea from Sidon to 
Joppa, in his way to Jerusalem, says, that on entering 
into that port, they found it so abounding in fish, " that a 
great fish pursuing one somewhat less, both of them sprung 
at the same time about three feet out of the water ; the 
first dropped into the middle of the bark, and the other fell 
to neaT that they had well nigh taken it with their hands ; 
this happened very luckily, as it afforded our sailors a 
treat." 

Chap, xlviii. ver. 35. — The Lord is there. 
In some part of the United States of America, the at- 
tendance at a prayer meeting had so declined, that some 
persons advised that it should be given up, which was ac- 



DANIEL II. 39.> 

cordingly done. On the following Tuesday, a poor infirm 
old woman, a constant attendant, was seen, as usual, hob- 
bling along to the chapel. On her return, some one met 
her and said, " Why, you forgot that the prayer meeting 
was given up : there was not any one there, was there?**— 
" O yes/' said the woman, u there was God the Father 
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, and a glorious 
time we had, and they promised to meet me agahv, next 
Tuesday night." From that time the place was crowded, 
and nothing more was heard about giving it up. 



DANIEL. 



Chap. i. vcr. 8. — Daniel purposed in his heart 
that he would not defile himself with the portion of 
the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. 

Dr Philip mentions that some Dutch merchants opened 
a storehouse for selling ardent spirits, on the borders of one 
of the missionary settlements in South Africa, which would 
have counteracted all the beneficial effects of the gospel 
on the poor untutored natives, had not the missionaries 
fallen on a happy expedient for defeating its baneful effects. 
When they heard of one of their converts entering into the 
storehouse to purchase ardent spirits, they caused his name 
on the following Sabbath to be read before the congrega- 
tion, that the minister and the whole church might unite in 
prayer on behalf of a brother exposed to great and dange- 
rous temptation. This had so salutary an effect, that hence- 
forth not a convert would enter the spirit shop. The store- 
house was speedily removed, and caused no farther annoy- 
ance. 

Chap. ii. ver. 1. — Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, 
wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake 
from him. 

In February 1786, Professor Meyer of Halle was sent 
for by one of his pupils, a medical student who lay danger- 
ously ill. The patient told him that he should certainly 
die, having had a warning dream to that effect. " I wrote 
it down/* he added, " the morning after it happened, and 



394 DANIEL IV. 

laid it in a drawer, of which this is the key ; when I am 

gone, read it over." On the 4th of March, the student 
died. Professor Meyer opened the drawer of the writing- 
desk, in which he found this narration : — " I thought I 
was walking in the church-yard of Halle, and admiring 
the number of excellent epitaphs which are cut on the 
grave-stones there. Passing from one to another, I was 
struck by a plain tomb-stone, of which I went to read the 
inscription. With surprise I found upon it my fore-names 
and surname, and that I died on the 4th of March. 
With progressive anxiety I tried to read the date of the 
year ; but I thought there was moss over the fourth cipher 
of 178 — . I picked up a stone to scrape the figures clean, 
and just as I began to distinguish a 6, with fearful palpi- 
tation I awoke." 

Chap. iii. ver. 18. — Be it known nnto thee, O 
king-, that we will not seiwe thy gods, nor worship 
the golden image which thou hast set up. 

Mr Samuel Wesley, the father of the celebrated Mr John 
Wesley, being strongly importuned by the friends of James 
the Second, to support the measures of the court in favour 
of Popery, with promises of preferment, absolutely refused 
even to read the king's declaration ; and though surrounded 
with courtiers, soldiers, and informers, he preached a bold 
and pointed discourse against it from these words : — "If it 
be so, our God whom we serve, is able to deliver us out of 
thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O 
king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the 
golden image which thou hast set up." 

Chap. iv. ver. 27. — O king, let my counsel he ac- 
ceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righte- 
ousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the 
poor. 

During the illness of the pious King Edward VI., Dr 
Ridley, in a sermon which he preached before him, much 
commended works of charity, and showed that, as they 
were enjoined on ail men, so especially on those in high 
stations. The same day after dinner, the king sent for 
the Doctor into the gallery, made him sit in a chair by 
him, and would not suffer him to be uncovered. After 
thanking the Doctor for his sermon, he repeated the chief 



DANIEL VI. 395 

heads of it, and added, — " I took myself to be chiefly 
touched by your discourse ; for as in the kingdom I am 
next under God, so must I most nearly approach to him 
in goodness and mercy. As our miseries stand most in 
the need of help from him, so are we the greatest debtors. 
And therefore, as you have given me this general exhorta- 
tion, direct me, I entreat you, by what particular act I 
may best discharge my duty." 

Chap. v. ver. 19. — Whom he would he slew, and 
whom he would he kept alive, and whom he would 
he set up, and whom he would he put down. 

At the court of France, while Louis XIV. was yet in 
his youth, some abject courtiers were entertaining the 
prince in public with the policy of the Turkish govern- 
ment They observed, that the Sultan had nothing to do 
but to say the word, whatever it was, whether to take off 
a great man's head, or strip him of his employment or 
estate, and that there was a train of servants they called 
mutes, who executed it without reply. " See," said the 
prince, u what it is to be a king !" The old Count de 
Grammont, who heard the corrupters of the youth with in- 
dignation, immediately interposed 1 u But, Sire ! of these 
same sultans I have known three strangled by their own 
mutes within my memory." This silenced the flatterers ; 
and the Duke de Montausier, the French Cato, who was 
lolling in a chair behind the circle that surrounded the 
prince, forced his way through the crowd, and publicly 
thanked the Count de Grammont for his noble and season- 
able liberty. 

Chap. vi. ver. 10. — Allien Daniel knew that the 
writing was signed, he went into his house ; and his 
windows being open in his chamber towards Jerusa- 
lem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a-day. 
and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he 
did aforetime. 

Some time ago, a law was passed in the House of As- 
sembly at Kingston, which contained several clauses highly 
injurious to the missionary cause in Jamaica. No time 
was lost in carrying its oppressive enactments into effect. 
A Wesleyan missionary was thrown into prison for the 



3{)6 DANIEL VII. 

alleged u crime ,, of preaching till after eight o'clock in th& 
evening. Two persons connected with the congregation at 
Montego Bay, had their houses levelled with the ground — 
their feet made fast in the stocks— and were sent in chains 
to the workhouse, charged with the heinous offence of pray- 
ing to the God of heaven. One of these, however, proved 
so incorrigible, that they were obliged to give him up in 
despair. Having nothing to do besides in the jail, he spent 
his time— morning, noon, and night — in singing, and in 
calling upon God ; which so annoyed the jailor, that he 
repeatedly went into his cell and beat him, till at length 
the jailor brought him again before the court for this sin. 
The man, however, resolutely declared his purpose to pray. 
w If you let me go/' said he, " me will pray — if you keep 
me in prison, me will pray — if you flog me, me will pray ; 
pray me must, and pray me will !" The jailor was fairly 
confounded ; and, rather than be annoyed any longer by 
this u praying fellow," he gave up his fees, and a part of 
the fine was remitted : and so the man was dismissed, to 
go and pray elsewhere. 

Chap. vii. ver. 1. — Iu the first year of Belshazzar 
king of Babylon. Daniel had a dream, and visions 
of his head upon his bed : then he vrrote the dream, 
and told the sum of the matters. 

Before Mr and Mrs Notcult had any idea of removing 
from their residence in Essex, 3Irs N. dreamed one night, 
that they went to live at Ipswich, and the house in which she 
imagined they resided, was so impressed on her mind, that 
when she actually went there, some years afterwards, she 
had a perfect recollection of it. She also dreamed, that 
as she was going to a closet in the parlour, her nose began 
to bleed, and that it would be impossible to stop it, until 
she had lost so much blood as to occasion her death, which 
event should happen forty years from that day. As her 
mind was deeply impressed, she wrote down in her pocket- 
book, the day of the month and year in which her dream 
occuned. Some time after, they went to reside at Ips- 
wich, and Mrs N. was surprised to find the house exactly 
correspond with the one she had seen in her dream, and 
also the very same closet, in going to which the fatal acci- 
dent happened. But parental duties, and the busy con- 
cerns of life, engaging her attention, the circumstance was 



DANIEL IX. SQ T 

soon forgotten, and the closet frequented for a number of 
years, without any fear of the accomplishment of her dream. 
On Christmas day, 1755, as she was reaching a bottle of 
drops from the closet, to give Mr Notcult, who was con- 
fined to a couch in the room, her nose began to bleed. 
Finding, after some time, all attempts to stop the blood 
ineffectual, her dream came to her recollection, and she re- 
quested one of her attendants to fetch her pocket-book, di- 
recting him where to find it. Upon examining it, they 
found, to their unspeakable surprise, that it was exactly 
forty years from the time her dream occurred. All methods 
were tried without effect, and as the medical attendant en- 
tered the room, she said to him, " You may try to stop the 
bleeding, if you please, but you will not be able." After 
languishing from Thursday till Saturday, she sweetly fell 
asleep in Jesus. 

Chap. viii. ver. 17. — Understand, O son of man ; 
for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 

u Thanks to Divine goodness," says Dr Payson of Ame- 
rica, " this has been a good day to me. Was favoured 
with considerable freedom in the morning, and rejoiced in 
the Lord through the day. In the evening felt an unusual 
degree of assistance, both in prayer and study. Since I 
began to beg God's blessing on my studies, I have done 
more in one week, than in the whole year before. Surely, 
it is good to draw near to God at all times." 

Chap. ix. ver. 23. — At the beginning of thy sup- 
plications the commandment came forth, and I am 
come to shew thee ; for thou art greatly beloved : 
therefore understand the matter, and consider the 
vision. 

A gentleman having been deeply engaged in abstruse 
speculations as to the distance from one planet to another, 
and the length of time that would be required to travel such 
a distance, carried his speculation so far as to inquire, — 
i( Supposing heaven to be a place, what may be supposed 
its distance, and die time required for locomotion, from one 
world to the other ?" A lady present promptly replied, — 
'• It is not a matter of mere conjecture, but admits of a 
satisfactory and scriptural solution. While a godly man 



SQ8 DANIEL X. 

prays and makes confession with supplication to his God, 
there is time enough for the commandment to go forth io 
heaven, and an angel, swift in flight, to reach earth with an 
answer of mercy," 

Chap. x. ver. 8. — I was left alone, and saw this 
great vision, and there remained no strength in me : 
for my comeliness was turned in me unto corruption, 
and I retained no strength. 

The Rev. William Tennant of America had preached 
one Lord's day morning to his congregation, and in the in- 
termission had walked into the woods for meditation, the 
weather being warm. He was reflecting on the infinite 
wisdom of God, as manifested in all his works, and parti- 
cularly in the wonderful method of salvation through the 
death and sufferings of his beloved Son. This subject 
suddenly opened on his mind with such a flood of light, 
that his views of the glory and the infinite majesty of Jeho- 
vah were so inexpressibly great, as entirely to overwhelm 
him ; and he fell almost lifeless to the ground. When he 
had revived a little, all he could do was to raise a fervent 
prayer, that God would withdraw himself from him, or that 
he must perish under a view of his ineffable glory. When 
able to reflect on his situation, he could not but abhor him- 
self as a w r eak and despicable worm ; and seemed to be 
overcome with astonishment, that a creature so unworthy 
and insufficient, had ever dared to attempt the instruction 
of his fellow-men in the nature and attributes of so glorious 
a Being. Overstaying his usual time, some of his elders 
went in search of him, and found him prostrate on the 
ground, unable to rise, and incapable of informing them of 
the cause. They raised him up, and, after some time, 
brought him to the church, and supported him to the pul- 
pit, which he ascended on his hands and knees, to the no 
''small astonishment of the congregation. He remained si- 
lent a considerable time, earnestly supplicating Almighty 
God to hide himself from him, that he might be enabled to 
address his people, who were by this time lost in wonder 
to know what had produced this uncommon event. His 
prayers were heard, and he became able to stand up, by 
holding the desk ; and in a most affecting and pathetic 
address, be gave an account of the views he had of the infi- 
nite wisdom of God, and deplored his own incapacity to 



DANIEL XII. $99 

speak to them concerning a Being so infinitely glorious 
beyond all his poweis of description. He then broke our 
into so fervent and expressive a prayer, as greatly to sur- 
prise the congregation, and draw tears from every eye. A 
sermon followed, which continued the solemn scene, and 
made very lasting impressions on the hearers. 

Chap. xi. ver. 32. — The people that do know their 
God shall be strong, and do exploits. 

" I have lately had the honour," said Captain Parry, at 
a public meeting in 182G, " and I may truly say, the hap- 
piness of commanding British seamen under circumstances 
requiring the utmost activity, implicit and immediate obe- 
dience, and the most rigid attention to discipline and good 
order ; and I am sure, that the maintenance of all these 
was, in a great measure, owing to the blessing of God upon 
our humble endeavours to improve the religious and moral 
character of our men. In the schools established on board 
our ships during the winter, religion was made the primary 
object, and the result was every way gratifying and satis- 
factory. It has convinced me, that true religion is so far 
from being a hinderance to the arduous duties of that sta- 
tion in which it has pleased Providence to cast the seaman's 
lot, that, on the contrary, it will always incite him to their 
performance, from the highest and most powerful of mo- 
tives ; and I will venture to predict, that in proportion as 
this spring of action is more and more introduced among 
our seamen, they would become such as every Englishman 
would wish to see them. To this fact, at least, I can, on 
a small scale, bear the most decided testimony ; and the 
friends of religion will feel a pleasure in having the fact 
announced, that the very best seamen on board the Hecla — 
suGh, I mean, as were always called upon in any cases of 
extraordinary emergency — were, without exception, those 
who had thought the most seriously on religious subjects ; 
and if a still more scrupulous selection were to be made 
out of that number, the choice would fall, without hesitation, 
on two or three individuals possessing dispositions and sen- 
timents eminently Christian." 

Chap. xii. ver. 13. — But go thou thy way till the 
end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at 
the end of the davs. 



400 HOSEA I. 

In a certain town in Providence, there lived two young 
men, who were intimate acquaintance. The one was truly 
pious ; and the other, a shopman, paid no regard to the im- 
portance of divine things. The shopman took up a leaf of 
the Bible, and was about to tear it in pieces, and use it for 
packing up some small parcels in the shop, when the other 
said, (i Do not tear that, it contains the word of eternal 
life." The young man, though he did not relish the re- 
proof of his kind and pious friend, folded up the leaf and 
put it in his pocket. A while after this, he said within him- 
self, Ci Now I will see what kind of life it is of which this 
leaf speaks." On unfolding the leaf, the first words that 
caught his eye, were the last in the book of Daniel — " But 
go thou thy way till the end be : for thou shalt rest, and 
stand in thy lot at the end of the days." He began imme- 
diately to inquire, what his lot w r ould be at the end of the 
days, and from this occurrence became truly pious. 



HOSEA. 



aid 



Chap. i. ver. 10. — In the place where it was said 
unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be 
said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. 

The late Rev. Robert Hall of Bristol, when describing 
the character of Mr Robinson of Leicester, says, — " It was 
the boast of Augustus, that he found the city of Rome built 
of brick, and that he left it built with marble. Mr Robin- 
son might say, without arrogance, that he had been the in- 
strument of effecting a far more beneficial and momentous 
change. He came to this place while it was sunk in vice 
and irreligion ; he left it eminently distinguished by sobriety 
of manners, and the practice of warm, serious, and enlight- 
ened piety. He did not add aqueducts and palaces, nor in- 
crease the splendour of its public edifices ; but he embel- 
lished it with undecaying ornaments. He renovated the 
minds of its inhabitants, and turned a large portion of 
them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan 
to God. He embellished it with living stones, and replen- 
ished it with numerous temples of the Holy-Ghost, He en- 



HOSEA IV. 401 

larged its intercourse with heaven, and trained a great por- 
tion of its inhabitants for the enjoyment of celestial bliss. 1 ' 

Chap. ii. ver. 23. — I will say to them which were 
not my people, Thou art my people ; and they shall 
say, Thou art my God. 

On one occasion, when the late Mr Brown of Hadding- 
ton was exhorting his students not to rest satisfied with a 
mere speculative acquaintance with the truths of Scripture, 
in the systems, or with treasuring them up in the memories, 
but to be concerned to have them engraven on their hearts 
by the Spirit of God, he took occasion to mention some- 
thing of his own experience, of which he was usually very 
sparing. a I recollect," said he, u that when sitting on the 
brae of Abernethy, hearing Mr Wilson of Perth, I got more 
insight into that marrow of the gospel, thy God and my 
God, than I ever got before or since : alas ! that it was so 
long ago." 

Chap. iii. ver. 2. — I bought her to me for fifteen 
pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an 
half homer of barley. 

u Sir John Chardin," says Harmer, u observed in the 
East, that in their contracts for their temporary wives, — 
which are known to be frequent there, which contracts are 
made before the Cadi, — there is always the formality of a 
measure of corn mentioned, over and above the sum of 
money that is stipulated. I do not know of any thing that 
should occasion this formality of late days in the East ; it 
may possibly be very ancient, as it is apparent this sort of 
wife is : if it be, it will perhaps account for Hosea's pur- 
chasing a woman of this sort for fifteen pieces of silver, and 
a certain quantity cf barley." 

Chap. iv. ver. 6. — My people are destroyed for lack 
of knowledge. 

Dr Ford, formerly ordinary of Newgate, who had con- 
tinual opportunities of investigating the fatal cause of de- 
pravity, ascribed the commission of crimes to the want of 
religious, as well as every moral principle. Of this the 
following is a melancholy proof: — "Going into the desk," 
says the doctor, C; at the chapel in Newgate, the first Sun- 
day after the Session, I saw twelve men in the condemned 
2 l 2 



402 HOSE A VI. 

felon's pew, whose deportment and dress were decent and 
respectable. When I announced the day of the month, and 
mentioned the psalm, I was astonished to observe that none 
of those convicts took up a prayer-book, though several lay 
before them ; neither did any of them seem to know a 
particle of the church service, or when to stand, sit, or 
kneel. In conversation with one next day, I inquired how 
it happened that none of them opened a prayer-book during 
divine service. Upon this there was rather an appearance 
of confusion, and a dead silence ensued. I put the ques- 
tion a second time, when one of them hesitatingly stam- 
mered out, " Sir, I cannot read ; nor I, nor I, nor I," was 
rapidly uttered by them all." 

Chap. v. ver. 15. — In their affliction they will 
seek me early. 

Vavasor Powel, an eminent minister, being appointed to 
preach on a certain day in a meadow in Cardiganshire, a 
number of idle persons, enemies to religion, agreed to meet 
at the same time and place, to play at foot-ball, and thereby 
create a disturbance. Among them was a young man, 
named Morgan Howell, of respectable family in that neigh- 
bourhood, lately returned from school, having finished his 
education, who, being nimble-footed and dexterous at the 
game, had obtained possession of the ball, intending to kick 
it in the face of the preacher. At this instant another per- 
son ran towards him and tripped up his heels. By the fall 
his leg was broken ; and after lying on the ground in great 
agony, he expressed a wish to see the minister, to whom, on 
his arrival, he confessed his wicked intention, and acknow- 
ledged that the just judgment of God had befallen him. 
The minister having represented to him the evil and danger 
of sin, preached the power of the Saviour, and at the re- 
quest of the young man, accompanied him to his father's 
house. So great was the change produced in him by means 
of this affliction, that on bis recovery he began to preach, 
and was for many years the most laborious preacher in 
those parts. 

Chap. vi. ver. 4. — Your goodness is as a morning 
cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. 

" The dew of the night," says Dr Shaw, " as we had 
only the heavens for our covering, would frequently wet us 



HOSEA IX. 4>Q3 

to the skin ; but no sooner was the sun risen, and the at- 
mosphere a little heated, than the mists were dispersed, and 
the copious moisture, which the dew communicated to the 
sands, would be entirely evaporated. ,, 

Chap. vii. ver. 5. — In the day of our king, the 
princes have made him sick with bottles of wine : 
he stretched out his hand with scorners. 

Cyrus, when a youth, being at the court of his grand- 
father Cambyses, undertook, one day, to be a cup-bearer at 
table. It was the duty of this officer to taste the liquor 
before it was presented to the king. Cyrus, without per- 
forming this ceremony, delivered the cup in a very graceful 
manner to his grandfather. The king observed the omis- 
sion, which he imputed to forgetfulness. " No," replied 
Cyrus, u I was afraid to taste, because I apprehended there 
was poison in the liquor : for not long since, at an enter- 
tainment which you gave, I observed that the lords of your 
court, after drinking of it, became noisy, quarrelsome, and 
frantic. Even you, Sir, seemed to have forgotten that you 
were a king." 

Chap. viii. ver. 14. — Israel hath forgotten his 
Maker. 

The Rev. John Brown of Haddington, offered the fol- 
lowing advice to one of his hearers, whose father was an 

eminent Christian : — cc Well, , mind these words — 

■ Thou art my God, X will prepare thee an habitation ; my 
father's God, I will exalt thee.'' We should reckon him a 
madman, who would throw away a father's estate ; but he 
is much more foolish who throws away a father's God." 

Chap. ix. ver. 17. — My God will cast them away, 
because they did not hearken unto him : and they 
shall be wanderers among the nations. 

Pains had been early taken by some of the Prince of 
Conde's supposed friends to shake his belief of Christianity ; 
he always replied, " You give yourselves a great deal of 
unnecessary trouble ; the dispersion of the Jews will always 
be an undeniable proof to me of the truth of our holy reli- 
gion." 



404 HOSEA XII. 

Chap, x. ver. 2. — Their heart is divided ; now shall 
they be found faulty. 

Numbers of the Greenlanders, who for a time adhered to 
the Moravian Missionaries, and promised well, drew back, 
and walked no more with them ; while the greater part of 
those who were wavering, seduced by the concourse of their 
heathen countreymen, againjoined the multitude. One being 
asked why he could not stay, answered, t€ I have bought a 
great deal of powder and shot, which I must first spend in 
the south, in shooting rein-deer 5" another, u I must first 
have my fill of bears' flesh ;" and a third, " I must have a 
good boat, and then I will believe." 

Chap. xi. ver. 7. — Though they called them to the 
Most High, none at all would exalt him. 

On the day appointed for the National Fast in England, 
some of the parishioners in Timsbury, near Bath, when 
going to the parish church, met a young man of their ac- 
quaintance, but a leader in crime among his companions. 
They asked him to accompany them to church. u What 
should I go to church for ?" rt O !" replied they, (i every 
body goes to church to-day." u I sha'nt go to church till 
I am carried there." On the Friday after, he was employ- 
ed to blow up the root of a tree with gunpowder ; and 
though, after having communicated fire to the fuse, he re- 
tired to an unusually great distance, yet when the explo- 
sion took place, a shivered splint hit him on the forehead, 
and in six hours he was a corpse. The effects produced in 
the parish, are said to have been extensively and solemnly 
made manifest in the conversion of more than a hundred of 
the most dissolute and abandoned of the inhabitants, who 
have, by the relinquishment of criminal practices, and a de- 
vout attendance on divine ordinances, evinced the sincerity 
of their repentance. 

Chap. xii. ver. 4. — He had power over the angel, 
and prevailed ; he wept and made supplication unto 
him. 

The Rev. Ralph Erskine was, on one occasion, request- 
ed by an afflicted friend to remember him in prayer. From 
the urgency of other affairs, the pious request, for a time, 
escaped his memory ; but happening to recollect it during 



JOEL I. 405 

the night, he rose out of bed, and prayed with great fervour 
in behalf of that individual. Not long after, he had the 
happiness to receive information of his recovery, and found, 
that at the very hour in which he had wrestled for him with 
the God of Jacob, the sufferer had obtained effectual relief. 

Chap. xiii. ver. 1. — When Ephraim spake trem- 
bling, he exalted himself in Israel. 

The Rev. Henry Erskine, minister of Falkirk, and son 
of the Rev. Ralph Erskine, during his last illness, disco- 
vered deep abasement, mingled with a lively hope. u The 
prayer of the publican," said he, M must be my prayer ; 
i God be merciful to me a sinner.' n When his brother 
James at one time made this pious remark, " We all need 
to settle our accounts with God betimes ;" Henry replied, 
<c I know no way, dear brother, of settling my accounts, but 
by receiving a free pardon from my Redeemer." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 4. — I will heal their backsliding, 
I will love them freely : for mine anger is turned 
away from him. 

It is said of a Mr G. that he lay languishing in distress 
of mind for five years; during which betook no comfort 
in meat or drink, nor any pleasure in life ; being under a 
sense of some backsliding, he was distressed as if he had 
been in the deepest pit of hell. If he ate his food, it was 
not from any appetite, but with a view to defer his damna- 
tion, thinking within himself that he must needs be lost so 
soon as his breath was out of his body. Yet, after all this, 
he was set at liberty, received great consolation, and after- 
wards lived altogether a heavenly life. Let not the tempted 
believer then despond, nor the returning backslider fear 
lest he should be rejected. 



JOEL. 

Chap. i. ver. 6. — A nation is come up upon my 
land, strong and without number. 

In the year 1090, a cloud of locusts was seen to enter 
Russia in three different places, and from thence to spread 



406 AMOS I. 

themselves over Poland and Lithuania in such astonishing 
multitudes that the air was darkened, and the earth cover- 
ed with their numbers. In some places they were seen 
lying dead, heaped upon each other four feet deep ; in others 
they covered the surface like a black cloth ; the trees bent 
beneath their weight, and the damage which the country 
sustained exceeded computation. 

Chap. ii. ver. 20. — I will remove far off from you 
the northern army, and will drive him into a land 
barren and desolate, with his face towards the east 
sea and his hinder part toward the utmost sea : and 
his stink shall come up, and his ill savour. 

Baron de Tott, speaking of the locust, says, " I have 
often seen the shores of the Pontus Euxinus, towards the 
Bosphorus of Thrace, covered with their dried remains in 
such multitudes, that one could not walk along the strand 
without sinking half leg deep into a bed of these skinny 
skeletons. Curious to know the true cause of their de- 
struction, I sought the moment of observation, and was a 
witness of their ruin by a storm, which overtook them so 
near the shore that their bodies were cast upon the land 
while yet entire. This produced an infection so great, that 
it was several days before they could be approached." 

Chap. hi. ver. 3. — They have — sold a girl for wine 
that they might drink. 

A few years ago, an old woman in London went into a 
dram shop and called for a glass of gin, which she drank 
off" as soon as it was served to her. She then produced a 
Bible from under her apron, saying she had no money, but 
would leave that in pledge and redeem it in half an hour ; 
she however never returned. A woman in Glasgow, some 
time since, in order to gratify her immoderate craving for 
ardent spirits, was said to have offered her own child for sale 
as a subject for dissection ! 



AMOS. 

Chap. i. ver. J J. — He did cast off all pity. 



AMOS II, 407 

c < Bonaparte," says Sir Robert Wilson, Ci having carried 
the town of Jaffa by assault, many of the garrison were put 
to the sword, but the greater part flying into the Mosques, 
and imploring mercy from their pursuers, were granted 
their lives. Three days afterwards, Bonaparte, who had 
expressed much resentment at the compassion manifested 
by his troops, and determined to relieve himself from the 
maintenance and care of 3800 prisoners, ordered them to 
be marched to a rising ground near Jaffa, where a division 
of French infantry formed against them. When the Turks 
had entered into their fatal alignment, and the mournful 
preparations were completed, the signal gun fired. Volleys 
of musquetry and grape instantly played against them, and 
Bonaparte, who had been regarding the scene through a 
telescope, when he saw the smoke ascending, could not con- 
tain his joy." 

Chap. ii. vcr. 12. — Ye gave the Nazarites wine to 
drink. 

Tn a village within ten miles of Elgin, a transaction oc- 
curred which it is impossible to condemn in sufficiently 
strong language. A man called on a publican in this vil- 
lage, in order to settle an account, and was asked to take a 
dram ; this was declined by the man on account of his be- 
ing a member of the Temperance Society. The publican 
first began to ridicule and then to tempt him ; telling him, 
that he would give him a. real good one, and that, besides, a 
glen dram would never be objected to. The simple man at 
length yielded to the tempter, and having yielded, was the 
more ready to sink before other even less powerful tempta- 
tions ; he did so, and is no longer a temperate man, or a 
member of a Temperance Society. It may be observed, 
that the mere circumstance of being a member of the Tem- 
perance Society, will net, and cannot be expected to enable a 
man to resist temptation, otherwise than as a lawful means 
under God ; unless, therefore, we ask for his assistance, our 
best resolutions will be insufficient to secure our safety. 
The atrocious conduct of this publican consisted in tempt- 
ing the man, after he was made aware of his conscientious 
reasons for total abstinence. If his unhappy victim die the 
death of the drunkard, who will say, he is guiltless of the 
loss fif that man's soul ? 



408 AMOS V. 

Chap. iii. ver. 8. — The lion hath roared, who vail 
not fear ? 

A lion having escaped from the menagerie of the great 
Duke of Tuscany, entered Florence, every where spreading 
terror. Aniong the fugitives was a woman with a child in 
her arms, which she let fall. He seized, and seemed 
ready to devour it, when the mother, transported with the 
tender affections of nature, ran back, threw herself before 
the lion, and by her gestures demanded the child. The 
lion looked at her stedfastly, her cries and tears seemed to 
affect him, till at last he laid down the child without doing 
it the least injury. 

Chap. iv. ver. 12. — Prepare to meet thy God, O 
Israel. 

The late Rev. Mr Madan was educated for the bar. His 
conversion arose from the following circumstance : — he was 
desired one evening, by some of his companions who were 
with him at a coffee-house, to go and hear Mr John Wes- 
ley, who they were told was to preach in the neighbour- 
hood, and to return and exhibit his manners and discourse 
for their entertainment. He went with that intention, and 
just as he entered the place, Mr "Wesley named as his text, 
4t Prepare to meet thy God," with a solemnity of accent 
which struck him, and which inspired a seriousness that in- 
creased as the good man proceeded in exhorting his hearers 
to repentance. Mr 31. returned to the coffee-room, and 
was asked by his acquaintance, " if he had taken off the 
old Methodist ?" To which he answered, " No, gentlemen, 
but he has taken me off;" and from that time he left their 
company altogether, and in future associated with serious 
people, and became himself a serious character. 

Chap. v. ver. 6. — Seek the Lord, and ye shall 
live. 

u I must never," says the late Rev. George Burder, 
" forget my birth-day, June 5th, 1762. It was on a Sab- 
bath ; and after tea, and before family worship, my father 
was accustomed to catechise me, and examine what I re- 
membered of the sermons of the day. That evening he 
talked to me very affectionately, and reminded me that I 



AMOS VII* 409 

was now ten years of age ; that it was high time I began 
to seek the Lord, and to become truly religious. He par- 
ticularly insisted upon the necessity of an interest in Christ, 
and showed me that, as a sinner, I must perish without it, 
and recommended me to begin that night to pray for it. 
After"family worship,- when my father and mother used to 
retire to their closets for private devotion, I also went into 
a chamber, the same room in which I was born, and then I 
trust, sincerely and earnestly, and as far as I can recollect, 
for the first time, I poured out my soul to God, beseeching 
him to give me an interest in Christ, and desiring, above all 
things, to be found in him. Reflecting on this evening, I 
have often been ready to conclude, that surely I was born 
of God at that time, surely I then was brought to believe in 
Christ, surely then was something more than nature in all 
this." 

Chap. vi. ver. 5, 6. — That chant to the sound of 
the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of 
music, like David ; — that drink wine in howls, and 
anoint themselves with the chief ointments ; but 
they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 

The tragical scenes which came under Mr Fisk's obser- 
vation while in Greece, had became so common, that they 
began to be regarded with indifference by many classes of 
people. Parties of pleasure and vain amusements were re- 
vived and engaged in, as though all were peace. Thousands 
had fled for their lives, and the streets of Smyrna were 
crimsoned with Grecian blood. It was estimated that 2000 
had been massacred, and heavy exactions of money were 
demanded of others for the privilege of living. The bodies 
of the slain were seen frequently floating in the bay. In 
a word, exactions, imprisonment, or death, met the defence- 
less Greeks in every direction ; — and yet, strange to tell, 
multitudes, only because they were better protected from 
Turkish violence, went thoughtlessly to the assembly room 
and the dance, as though all were peace and security. 
While the countenance of many gathered blackness through 
fear, that of others exhibited only the expression of a 
thoughtless, ill-timed levity. 

(hap. vii. ver. 10. — Amaziah, the priest of 

2 M 



410 AMOS VIII* 

Beth-el, sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying. 
Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of 
the house of Israel ; the land is not able to bear all 
his words. 

Bishop Latimer, in preaching before King Henry the 
Eighth, spoke his mind very plainly ; which some of his 
enemies thought to make their advantage of, by complain- 
ing of him to the king, that they might thus get him out 
of the way. Soon after his sermon, he and several others 
being called before the king to speak their minds on cer- 
taiu matters, one of them kneeled before his majesty, and 
accused Latimer of having preached seditious doctrines. 
The king turned to Latimer, and said, " What say you to 
that, Sir ?*' Latimer kneeled down, and turning first to 
his accuser, said, i( What form of preaching would you 
appoint me to preach before a king ? Would you have 
me to preach nothing concerning a king, in a king's ser- 
mon ? Have you any commission to appoint me what I 
shall preach ?" He asked him several other questions, but 
he would answer none at all ; nor had he any thing to say. 
Then he turned to the king, and said, u I never thought 
myself worthy, nor ever sued, to be a preacher before your 
Grace. But I was called to it : and would be willing, if 
you mislike me, to give place to my betters. But if your 
Grace allow me for a preacher, I would desire your Grace 
to discharge my conscience, give me leave to frame my dis- 
course according to mine audience. 1 had been a very dolt 
to have preached so at the borders of your realm, as T 
preach before your Grace.'' These words were well re- 
ceived by the king as Latimer concluded, because the 
king presently turned to another subject. Some of his 
friends came to him with tears in their eyes, and told him, 
they looked for nothing but that he should have been sent 
to the Tower the same night. 

Chap. viii. ver. 12. — They shall wander from sea 
to sea, and from the north even to the east ; they 
shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, 
and shall not find it. 

Br Henderson, in his Journal, says, " In the east of 
Iceland I fell in with a clergyman, who has been seeking 
in vain to obtain a Bible for the long period of seventeen 



OBADIAH I. 41 t 

years ! His joy on my arrival was inexpressible. I pass- 
ed through a parish lately, in which were only two Bibles, 
and another considerably more populous, in which there 
are none at all /" 

Chap. ix. ver. 3. — Though they be hid from my 
sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I com- 
mand the serpent, and he shall bite them. 

In the year 1807, a stout young fisherman in the neigh- 
bourhood of Calcutta, in the East Indies, was bit on the 
point of the middle finger of his right hand by a sea snake, 
which had been entangled in his net, and considering it 
harmless, he threw it into the sea, and thought nothing of 
the bite. About an hour afterwards, he complained of a 
slight pain in the bitten finger, which extended along the 
inside of the right arm. The pain increased, he felt giddi- 
ness, attended with weakness in the loins and legs, which 
was followed with violent spasms, and early in the morning 
he died in convulsions. 



OBADIAH. 



Ver. 5. — If thieves came to thee, if robbers by 
night, would they not have stolen till they had 
enough ? 

At an assizes held at York, J. Fourniss and G. Wilkin- 
son were tried for a burglary in the house of George Hoi- 
royd, a clothier, at Hartshead. These villains having 
entered the house, came to the bed-side of Holroyd, about 
one in the morning, demanding his money, and repeatedly 
threatening to kill him if he refused to discover it. It hap- 
pened that Holroyd had only a single sixpence in the house, 
as he solemnly assured them ; but not believing him, they 
persevered in the threatening to kill him, with a case-knife, 
which Fourniss held in his hand. Holroyd then begged 
they would suffer him to pray before he died. Wilkinson 
consented, saying, " Let him pray." He did so for a few 
minutes ; after which Wilkinson seemed to relent ; for 
when the other said, " He will not show us where his 
money is; we must kill him !" Wilkinson said, " No; 



4,12 JONAH I. 

we will not kill him.' 1 — Soon after which both left the 
house, taking with them some bacon, butter^ and eggs. 
The jury found the prisoners guilty ; but recommended 
Wilkinson to mercy, on account of the compassion he dis- 
covered — Such was the good effect of prayer even upon a 
thief ! 



JONAH. 

Chap. i. ver. 5, 6. — Jonah was gone down into the 
sides of the ship ; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 
So the ship-master came to him, and said nnto him, 
What meanest thou, O sleeper ? arise, call upon thy 
God. 

Two or three miles above the falls of Niagara, an Indian 
canoe was one day observed floating quietly along, with its 
paddle upon its side. At first it was supposed to be 
empty ; no one could imagine that a man would expose 
himself to such well known and imminent danger. But 
a turn in the current soon gave the travellers a sight of an 
Indian lying idly asleep at the bottom. They were shock- 
ed, and called aloud, but he did not hear ; they shouted in 
an agony of pity and alarm ; but he was deaf to their 
saving cry. It chanced that the current, which was now 
hurrying along with increased speed as it neared the fatal 
precipice, drove the little boat against a point of rock with 
such violence, that it was whirled round and round several 
times. He's safe ! He's safe ! cried the spectators, joy- 
fully ; the man is safe ; that shock must wake him. But, 
alas ! no. Fatigue, or drunkenness, (to which savages are 
particularly addicted) had so oppressed his senses, that it 
seemed more like death than sleep which held him ; it was 
indeed the sleep of death. All hope was gone, and they 
hurried along the shore in alarm to see the end. It soon 
came, for the torrent was now roiling so rapidly, that they 
could scarcely keep pace with the object of their interest. 
At length the roar of the water, which had been hitherto 
almost buried within the high banks below, by a sudden 
change of the wind br^ke upon them with double violence. 
This dreadful noise, with which the Indian ear was so fa- 



JONAH III. 413 

miliar, did at last arouse him. He was seen to start up 
and snatch his paddle. But it was too late ; the same 
dunning sound which had roused him from insensibility, 
told him at the same time, that it was in vain to seek for 
safety now by rowing ; nor, indeed, had he time to try ; 
upright as he stood, he went over the awful precipice, and 
the boat and its occupant were seen no more. 

Chap. ii. ver. 5. — The waters compassed me about, 
even to the soul : the depth closed me round about. 

" I once," says Dr Currie of Liverpool, tt heard — for it 
was night, and I could not see — a traveller drowning, 
not in the Annan, but in the Firth of Solway, close by the 
mouth of that river. The influx of the tide had unhorsed 
him in the night as he was passing the sands from Cumber- 
land. The west wind blew a tempest ; and, according to 
the common expression, brought in the water three feet 
abreast. The traveller got upon a standing net a little way 
from the shore. There he lashed himself to the post, 
shouting for half an hour for assistance, till the tide rose 
over his head ! In the darkness of the night, and amidst 
the pauses of the hurricane, his voice, heard at intervals, 
was exquisitely mournful. No one could go to his assist- 
ance — no one knew where he was — the sound seemed to 
proceed from the spirit of the waters. But morning rose 
—the tide had ebbed — and the poor traveller was found 
lashed to the pole of the net, and bleaching to the wind." 

Chap. hi. ver. 2. — Preach unto Nineveh the 
preaching that I bid thee. 

A celebrated preacher, now deceased, in a charge which 
he delivered to a young minister at his ordination, thus ad- 
dressed him : — " Let me remind you, Sir, that when you 
come into this place, and address this people, you are not 
to bring your little self with you. I repeat this again, Sir, 
that it may more deeply impress your memory : I say, that 
you are never to bring your little self with you. No, Sir, 
when you stand in this sacred place, it is your duty to hold 
up your great Master to your people, in his character, 
in his offices, in his precepts, in his promises, and in his 
glory. This picture you are to hold up to the view of your 
hearers, while you are to stand behind it. and not let so 
much as your little finger be seen." 
2m2 



414 MICAH I. 

Chap. iv. ver. 9. — I do well to be angry, even unto 
death. 

" I was lately taking a journey from home," says one, 
" and happened one day to be drinking tea with a clergy- 
man, who said that he had just had a very awful death in 
his parish. I thought it was some drunkard, or swearer, 
or Sabbath-breaker, who had perhaps been cut otT in his 
sins ; and I never for a moment supposed that it could be 
a little child. But how was I shocked when he told me 
the story ! A very little child, about three years old, had 
its naughty will crossed by its mother, and flew into a 
violent passion. She screamed and cried, and stamped 
with her feet on the ground, and was like a mad creature 
with rage. And oh ! (dreadful to relate) it pleased God 
to strike her dead in the midst of her passion. Whether 
she broke a blood-vessel with her rage, or how it was, I do 
not know ; but she died in the midst of her sins, and is 
gone to the world of spirits." 



MICAH. 

Chap. i. ver. 8. — I will wail and howl ; — I will 
make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as 
the owls. 

" While I was at Saphetta," (in Galilee,) says Bid- 
dulph, the chaplain to the English factory at Aleppo, in the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth, " many Turks departed from 
thence towards Mecca in Arabia. And the same morning 
they went, we saw many women playing with timbrels as 
they went along the streets, who made a yelling, or shriek- 
ing noise, as if they cried. We asked what they meant in 
so doing ? It was answered us, that they mourned for the 
departure of their husbands, who were gone that morning 
on pilgrimage to Mecca ; and they feared that they should 
never see them again, because it was a long way and dan- 
gerous, and many died there every year. It seemed strange 
to us, that they should mourn with music about the streets ; 
for music is used in other peaces at times of mirth, and not 
at times of mourning." 



MIC AH IV. 415 

Chap. ii. ver. 11. — I will prophesy unto thee of 
wine and of strong drink. 

The following is Sir Astley Cooper's opinion of dram- 
drinking, in answer to an application by the secretary of the 
Temperance Society, for his support and patronage. 

c( My dear Sir, — No person has greater hostility to 
dram«.drinking than myself, insomuch that I never suffer 
any ardent spirits in my house, thinking them Evil Spi- 
rits. And if the poor could witness the white livers, the 
dropsies, and the shattered nervous systems which I have 
seen, as the consequence of drinking, they would be aware 
that Spirits and Poisons were synonymous terms. But 
still I think the scheme so Utopian, that I cannot annex 
my name to it ; for I could as soon believe that I could, 
by my own efforts, stop the cataract of Niagara, as prevent 
the poor of London from destroying themselves by intem- 
perance." 

Chap. iii. ver. 8. — Truly I am full of power by 
the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of 
might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and 
to Israel his sin. 

The biographer of Mr Legh Richmond one day submit- 
ted to him the following question : — cc What is the scrip- 
tural and right way to preach to the Jews ?** — " I know of 
no scriptural way," he replied, " of preaching to men, 
otherwise than as sinners ; and why the Jews, whose sins 
are of so aggravated a nature, should be dealt with in a 
different way, I do not see. I would address the Jew as 
I would address any other man ; — that is, as a sinner ; 
and till he is convinced of his sin, he will never believe in 
a Saviour. e Christ crucified, ' is declared to be * to the 
Greeks foolishness, and to the Jews a stumbling-block ; 
but to them that believe, the power of God and the wisdom 
of God.' No man will ever feel the power of God, whether 
he be Jew or Gentile, till he learns it at the foot of the 
cross." 

Chap. iv. ver. 3. — They shall beat their swords 
into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning- 
hooks ; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, 
neither shall they learn war any more. 



41 6 MICAH V. 

u I have been labouring," says the Rev. Mr Ellis, in a 
speech at the anniversary of the Naval and Military Bible 
Society, " among a people who once delighted in war, but 
since Christianity has prevailed, there war has ceased alto- 
gether ; and they are astonished how they ever engaged in 
all those deeds of savage cruelty, which, according to their 
usual practice, threatened the extermination of their race ; 
but now the Prince of Peace reigns there. I have seen 
the musket barrel taken from the stock and carried to the 
anvil, and beaten into a spade or a hoe, though not into a 
ploughshare, for the plough does not yet turn up their 
fruitful soil ; and the warrior who has used it in battle, 
now employs it in cultivating the land. They have even 
gone further in illustration of this beautiful description of 
the prophet, for they have devoted the implements of war 
to the service of the sanctuary ! The last Sabbath I was 
there, 1 went into one of their chapels, and ministered to a 
large congregation of about fifteen hundred persons. A 
rude sort of pulpit was erected, and stairs led up to it, 
the railings of which, smooth and polished, were literally 
composed of the handles of warriors' spears, who had thus 
transferred their weapons with themselves to a nobler and 
better purpose — the service of the sanctuary of God !" 

Chap. v. ver. 12. — I will cut off witchcrafts out 
of thine hand ; and thou shalt have no more sooth- 
sayers. 

On two estates in the Island of Lequan, in the West 
Indies, the plan of appointing catechists for the purpose of 
reading the Scriptures to the negroes at weekly meetings, 
has been adopted, and the benefit resulting from it on one 
of them, is thus described by a correspondent : — " A ma- 
nager of these estates informed me, that the negroes do 
three times the work they formerly did, and are quite cheer- 
ful and happy. I was first requested to visit this estate by 
the proprietor, on account of the prevalence of Obiah or 
Witchcraft, which rendered the negroes wretched, and had 
been the death of some, from its miserable influence upon 
their minds. But the truths of the Bible banished this 
from the estate ; and I will venture to say, that while the 
Bible remains in their hands, and the love of it in their 
hearts, no Obiah will be found among them." 



MIC AH VII. 417 

Chap. vi. ver. 6. — Wherewith shall I come before 
the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ? 

Mr W , a respectable Calvinistic minister, having 

been visited by a young candidate for the ministry, one 
Sabbath day, invited him to preach. The young gentle- 
man consented, and delivered an ingenious Arminian ser- 
mon, though his prayer was very Calvinistic. When the 

service was over, Mr W thanked him for his kindness, 

praised him for his ingenuity, but told him, that, as they 
did not agree in sentiment, he could not invite him to 
preach again ; but, continued he, " I have a favour to ask 
of you : When you go home, will you sit down and write a 
prayer, to agree with the sentiments you have this day been 
preaching ? — will you commit it to memory, go into your 
closet, and repeat it to God ?" The young man promised 
to do it. Accordingly, when he went home, he wrote the 
prayer, committed it to memory, went into his closet, and 
attempted to repeat it ; but found, through the power of 
conscience, that he could not. — A few years afterwards, he 
called on Mr W ■, who soon recollected him, and re- 
ceived him very cordially. The young gentleman offered 

to preach for him, and Mr W , with some reluctance, 

consenting, he went into the pulpit, and, to the surprise of 
Mr W , delivered a sound, sensible, Calvinistic ser- 
mon. The preacher being asked why he had altered his 

sentiments, he related the circumstances of Mr W 's 

request, and added, that, being greatly agitated, as well as 
surprised, he had carefully examined his sentiments, and 
reasoned thus with himself: — " Can it be proper for me to 
preach to a congregation what I cannot offer up in prayer 
to God ?" 

Chap. vii. ver. 10. — Then she that is mine enemy 
shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said 
unto me, Where is the Lord thy God ? mine eyes 
shall behold her : now shall she be trodden down as 
the mire of the streets. 

When Dr Dodd, who suffered for forgery in 1777, was 
led to the place of execution, several of the populace seemed 
to exult at the condemnation of a dignified ecclesiastic ; 
and a woman reproachfully called out to him, " Where is 
now thy God ?" He instantly referred her to the seventh 



418 XAHUM JI. 

chapter of Micah, 7 — 10. '* Therefore I will look unto the 
Lord ; I will wait for the God of my salvation : my God 
will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy : 
when I fall, 1 shall arise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord 
shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of 
the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he 
plead my cause, and execute judgment for me : he will 
bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righ- 
teousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and 
shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the 
Lord thy God ? mine eyes shall behold her : now shall she 
be trodden down as the mire of the streets." The wretched 
woman, proceeding to witness the execution, was thrown 
down in the pressure of the throng, and literally trodden to 
death ! 



XAHUM. 



Chap. i. ver. 10. — While they are drunken as 
drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. 

Three W T arsaw butchers went to a tippling-house, aban- 
doned themselves to every sort of excess, and drank till 
they were so intoxicated that they were carried home sense- 
less. A few hours had scarcely elapsed, when the miser- 
able men were seized with all the symptoms of cholera, 
which advanced with such rapidity, as to prove fatal to the 
whole three within four hours. 

Chap. ii. ver. 11. — Where is the dwelling of the 
lions, and the feeding of the young lions ? 

In the beginning of March 1810, five horsemen, station- 
ed at a village near Hansi, having heard that a pig had 
been carried away by a tiger, went to the spot on foot, when 
they found a lion and lioness feeding upon it. The latter, 
on the patch of grass being set on fire, went off; but the 
former advanced slowly, with his main and tail erect ; when 
the men fired with so good an efTect, as induced them to go 
up and destroy him with their swords, which was accom- 
plished after one man had been severely wounded. The 
animal appeared to be a full grown lion, in most respects 



HABAKKUK I. 419 

like the African one. A lioness, a few days previous, bad 
been sent in from Hissan, having been killed by a party 
of horsemen. These facts prove, contrary to the general 
opinion, that lions are to be found in India as well as 
Africa. 

Chap. iii. ver. 3. — The horseman lifteth up the 
bright sword and the glittering spear : and there is 
a multitude of slain, 

As Napoleon Bonaparte once passed over a field of bat- 
tle in Italy, with some of his generals, he saw a houseless 
dog lying on the slain body of his master. The creature 
came towards them, then returned to the dead body, 
moaned over it pitifully, and seemed to ask their assistance. 
" Whether it were the feeling of the moment," continued 
Napoleon, " the scene, the hour, or the circumstance itself, 
I was never so deeply affected by any thing which I have 
seen upon a field of battle. That man, I thought, has, 
perhaps, had a house, friends, comrades, and here lies de- 
serted by every one but his dog ! How mysterious are the 
impressions to which we are subject. I was in the habit, 
without emotion, of ordering battles, which must decide 
the fate of a campaign, and could look with a dry eye on 
the execution of manoeuvres, which must be attended with 
much loss ; and here I was moved — nay, painfully affected 
—by the cries and the grief of a dog. It is certain, that 
at that moment, I should have been more accessible to a 
suppliant enemy, and could better understand the conduct 
of Achilles, in restoring the body of Hector to the tears of 
Priam. 1 ' 



HABAKKUK. 



Chap. i. ver. 16. — They sacrifice unto their net, 
and burn incense unto their drag. 

A blacksmith, who had been employed one day on the 
Mission premises in India, fetched away his tools next 
morning for the purpose of worshipping them, it being the 
day on which the Hindoos pay divine honours to the im- 
plements of their various trades ; the files and hammers of 



4:20 ZEFHAXIAH I. 

the smiths, the chisels and saws of the carpenter, the dia- 
mond of the glazier, the crucible of the goldsmith, &c. &a, 
all become idols on this anniversary. 

Chap. ii. ver. 4.— The just shall live by his faith. 

Two men of learning were conversing with each other 
respecting the method they should take in reference to a 
certain regulation imposed upon them by the higher powers, 
and to which they had conscientious scruples. One of them 
impiously swore, u By my faith I shall live." The other 
calmly and pleasantly replied, " I hope to live by my faith 
too, though I do not swear by it." The result was, that 
the man who resolved by grace to venture his temporal 
interest for conscience sake, lived in prosperity to see the 
other begging, and to contribute to his relief. 

Chap. iii. ver. 17, 18. — Although the fig-tree shall 
not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the 
labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield 
no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, 
and there shall be no herd hi the stalls : yet I will 
rejoice in the Lord, I will joy hi the God of my 
salvation. 

Two religious persons lived in one place, who had been 
intimately acquainted in early life. Providence favoured 
one of them with a tide of prosperity. The other, fearing 
for his friend, lest his heart should be overcharged with the 
cares of this life, and the deceitfulness of riches, one day- 
asked him whether he did not find prosperity a snare to 
him. He paused, and answered, u I am not conscious 
that I do, for I enjoy God in ail things.". Some years 
after, his affairs took another turn. He lost, if not the 
whole, yet the far greater part of what he had once gained, 
and was greatly reduced. His old friend being one day in 
his company, renewed his question, whether he did not find 
what had lately befallen him to be too much for him. 
Again he paused, and answered, " I am not conscious that 
I do, for now I enjoy all things in God." 



ZEPHANIAH. 



Chap. i. ver. 6. — Those that have not sought the 
Lord, nor enquired for him. 



ZEFHANIAH III. 



421 



One evening, a lady and her little daughter attended a 
religious meeting, and while the minister was speaking of 
the neglect of family duties, of reading the Scriptures, and 
of family prayer, the little daughter, who listened atten- 
tively, and perceived that the preacher was describing a 
neglect that she had witnessed herself, whispered to her 

mother this question — " Ma, is Mr talking to you ?" 

This was powerful preaching to the mother ; she was im- 
mediately brought under deep convictions, which resulted 
in her hopeful conversion, 

Chap. ii. ver. 14.— Their voice shall sing in the 
windows. 

" I found also in this place,'* says Le Bruyn, in describ- 
ing the ruins of Persepolis, " besides the birds I have al- 
ready mentioned, four or live sorts of small birds, who keep 
constantly in these ruins and the adjoining mountain, and 
which make the most agreeable warbling in the world. 
The singing of the largest approaches very near to that of 
the nightingale. Some of them are almost all black ; 
others have the head and body spotted, of the size of a 
swallow ; others are smaller, and of different colours, yel- 
lowish, gTey, and quite white, shaped like a chaffinch." 

Chap. iii. ver. 12. — I will also leave in the midst 
of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall 
trust in the name of the Lord. 

The Rev. Oliver Heywood's pecuniary circumstances 
were sometimes very trying, but the special interpositions of 
Frovidence were not less remarkable. " While I was 
musing,'* says he, " and pondering how to get my rent dis- 
charged, and had no way, at this time, but to borrow it, 
there came a dear friend to me, and brought me five 
pounds, which did furnish me with an overplus besides my 
rent. It was a seasonable present, sent to me by a liberal 
hand ; yet I own God chiefly in it, who cares for me, as in 
this, and several other experiences, is evident. O what a 
sweet thing is the life of faith ! That is a perfumed gift, 
which thus comes from God as a token of love, after the 
actings of faith in prayer. Plow good is God to me ! I 
live nobly, and am so far from wanting, that I have all and 
abound ; and where supplies fail one way, God makes 
them up another.*' 

2 k 



4£g HAGGAI II. 



HAGGAL 

Chap. i. ver. 9.— Ye looked for much, and lo, it 
came to little ; and when ye brought it home, I did 
blow npon it. Why ? saith the Lord of hosts. Be- 
cause of mine honse that is waste, and ye run every 
man unto his own house. 

Some years ago, a poor boy came to town in search of a 
situation as errand boy ; he made many unsuccessful appli- 
cations, and was on the eve of returning to his parents, 
when a gentleman, being prepossessed by his appearance, 
took him into his employment, and after a few months, 
bound him apprentice. He so conducted himself during 
his apprenticeship, as to gain the love and esteem of every 
one who knew him ; and after he had served his time, his 
master advanced a capital for him to commence business. 
He retired to his closet with a heart glowing with gratitude 
to his Maker for his goodness, and then solemnly vowed 
that he would devote a tenth part of his annual income to 
the service of God. The first year his donation amounted 
to ten pounds, which he gave cheerfully, and continued to 
do so till it amounted to £ 500 ; he then thought that was 
a great deal of money to give, and that he need not be so 
particular as to the exact amount. That year he lost a 
ship and cargo to the value of £15,000 by a storm ! This 
caused him to repent, and he again commenced his contri- 
butions, with a resolution never to retract: he was more 
successful every year, and at length retired. He then de- 
voted a tenth part of his annual income for some years, till 
he became acquainted with men of the world, who by de- 
grees drew him aside from God : he discontinued his do- 
nations, made large speculations, lost every thing, and be- 
came almost as poor as when he came to town as an errand 
boy ! 

Chap. ii. ver. 18, 19. — From the day that the 
foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider 
it — from this day will I bless you. 

" Some years ago," says one, " I recollect reading a 
striking sermon by the late Mr Simpson of Macclesfield ; 
the subject, T think, was christian liberality ; but what 



ZECHARTAH II. 423 

most forcibly struck my mind, was a passage quoted from 
Malachi iii. 10. 'Bring ye all the tithes into the store 
1101186,' &c. I cannot describe how my mind was impress- 
ed with the manner in which Jehovah here condescended 
to challenge his people, when he says, c And prove me now 
herewith,' &c. Suffice it to say, that the subject made such 
an impression, I found it my duty to do more for the cause 
of God than I ever had done. I did so, and on closing 
that year's accounts, I found that I had gained more than 
in any two years preceding it. Some time afterwards, I 
thought the Redeemer's cause had an additional claim, as 
the place in which we worshipped him wanted some re- 
pairs, The sum I then gave was £ 20 ; and in a very 
little time afterwards I received £ 40, which I had long 
given up as lost." 



ZECHARIAH. 



Chap. i. ver. 5. — Your fathers, where are they ? 
and the prophets, do they live for ever ? 

" We need no reed," says Mr Matthew Henry, u no 
pole, no measuring line, wherewith to take the dimensions 
of our days, nor any skill in arithmetic, wherewith to 
compute the number of them. No ; we have the standard 
of them at our fingers' ends' ; and there is no multiplica- 
tion of it ; it is but one hand-breadth in all." 

Chap. ii. ver. 11. — Many nations shall be joined 
to the Lord in that day, and shall he my people. 

" In the year 1813," says Mr Campbell, " after having 
visited several nations in the interior of Africa, beyond the 
colony of the Cape of Good Hope, when returning, I halt- 
ed at the town of Paarl, within thirty-six miles of Cape 
Town ; here I was requested by friends to relate publicly 
the state of the nations in the interior of Africa. About 
one hundred free persons, with some slaves, attended. At 
the close, several hundred rix-dollars were contributed by 
the white friends present for the Missionary Society. After 
the whites had all left the house, a slave woman and her 
daughter called upon me, and said, c Sir, will you take any 



424 



ZECHARIAH V. 



thing from a poor slave, to help to send the gospel to the 
poor things beyond us V On my saying, c Most certainly I 
will/ she gave me eightpence, and her daughter fourpence. 
Having done so, they hastily went out clapping their hands, 
and ran to some slave men who were waiting to hear the 
result. On hearing from her that I cheerfully took sub- 
scriptions from slaves, they rushed into my room, and every 
one threw down all that they had, to send the gospel to the 
poor things beyond them /" 

Chap. iii. ver. 10. — Ye shall call every man his 
neighbour under the vine, and under the fig-tree. 

Dr Richard Chandler, in his Travels in Asia Minor, in- 
forms us, " that a Greek at Philadelphia sent them a small 
earthen vessel full of choice wine ; and that some families, 
who were sitting beneath some trees, by a rill of water, in- 
vited them to alight and partake of their refreshments. The 
taking their repasts thus in public expressed safety and 
pleasure ; and the calling to passengers to partake with 
them, a spirit of friendliness and generosity." 

Chap. iv. ver. 6. — Not by might, nor by power, 
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts. 

" I am by birth," said a converted Hindoo, when ad- 
dressing a number of his countrymen, " of an insignificant 
and contemptible caste ; so low, that if a Brahmin should 
chance to touch me, he must go and bathe in the Ganges 
for the purpose of purification ; and yet God has been 
pleased to call me, not merely to the knowledge of the gos- 
pel, but to the high office of teaching it to others. My 
friends, do you know the reason of God's conduct ? It is 
this : if God had selected one of you learned Brahmins, 
and made you the preacher, when you were successful in 
making converts, by-standers would have said it was. the 
amazing learning of the Brahmin, and his great weight of 
character, that were the cause ; but now, when any one is 
convinced by my instrumentality, no one thinks of ascrib- 
ing any of the praise to me ; and God, as is his due, has 
all the glory." 

Chap. v. ver. 3. — Every one that sweareth shall 
be cut off as on that side. 

Three soldiers passing through a wood, a storm of thun- 



ZECHAR1AH VII. £2 J 

tier and lightning came on. One of the soldiers, to show 
his contempt of God and his judgments, began to swear, 
when a large tree, torn up by the fury of the tempest, fell 
upon him and crushed him to pieces. 

Chap. vi. ver. 13. — He shall build the temple of 
the Lord ; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit 
and rule upon his throne ; and he shall be a priest 
upon his throne : and the counsel of peace shall be 
between them both. 

" In the afternoon," says Toplady, in his Diary, " called 
on William Perry of Southertown. Our discourse hap- 
pened to take a serious turn. Among other subjects, we 
spoke concerning the divinity of the ever-blessed Son of 
God. I could scarce help smiling, at the same time that I 
heartily applauded the honest zeal of my well-meaning 
parishioner : — < Let any man,' said he, ( but search the 
Scriptures, and if he does not find that Christ, as a divine 
person, subsisted, not only previous to his birth of the Vir- 
gin Mary, but from everlasting, I will lose my head.' This 
brought to my mind that just observation of the late excel- 
lent Mr Hervey, who, speaking of Christ's atonement, says, 
c Ask any of your serious tenants, what ideas arise in their 
minds upon a perusal of the fore -mentioned texts ? I dare 
venture that, artless and unimproved as their understandings 
are, they will not hesitate for an answer. They will nei- 
ther complain of obscurity, nor ask the assistance of learn- 
ing, but will immediately discern, in all these passages, a 
gracious Redeemer suffering in their stead ; and by his 
bitter but expiatory passion, procuring the pardon of their 
sins. Nay, farther, as they are not accustomed to the 
finesse of criticism, I apprehend they will be at a loss to 
conceive how it is possible to understand such passages in 
any other sense.' " 

Chap. vii. ver. 12. — They made their hearts as an 
adamant-stone, lest they should hear the law, and 
the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his 
Spirit by the former prophets. 

Bishop Massillon, in the first sermon he ever preached, 

found the whole audience, upon his getting into the pulpit, 

in a disposition no way favourable to his intentions. Their 

nod?, whispers, or drowsy behaviour, showed him that there 

2 x 2 



426 ZECHARIAH IX. 

was no great profrt to be expected from his sowing in a'soil 
so improper However, he soon changed the disposition 
of his audience by his manner of beginning. " If," says 
he, Ci a cause, the most important that could be conceived, 
were to be tried at the bar before qualified judges ; if this 
cause interested ourselves in particular ; if the eyes of the 
whole kingdom were fixed upon the events ; if the most 
eminent counsel were employed on both sides ; and if we 
had heard from our infancy of this yet undetermined trial, 
— would you not all sit with due attention, and warm ex- 
pectation, to the pleadings on each side ? Would not all 
your hopes and fears be hinged on the final decision ? And 
yet, let me tell you, you have this moment a cause, where 
not one nation, but all the world are spectators ; tried not 
before a fallible tribunal, but the awful throne of heaven, 
where not your temporal and transitory interests are the 
subject of debate, but your eternal happiness or misery ; 
where the cause is still undetermined, but, perhaps, the 
very moment I am speaking may fix the irrevocable decree 
that shall last for ever ; and yet, notwithstanding all this, 
you can hardly sit with patience to hear the tidings of your 
own salvation. I plead the cause of heaven, and yet I am 
scarcely attended to." 

Chap. viii. ver. 16. — Speak ye every man the 
truth to his neighbour. , 

" Some time ago," says a teacher, a I called upon the 
mother of one of my scholars, to inquire the reason of her 
son's absence from school : she told me that he had lately 
got a situation, and promised that he should attend more 
regularly in future. She was acquainted with the parents 
of another of my scholars, and as we were conversing about 
her own boy, she said that she hoped he would be as good 
a boy as his school-fellow was ; for, added she, 'his mother 
had told me that she never knew him tell a lie in his life.'' 
I knew the master and mistress with whom this same boy 
went to live, and they told me, that though he was not quite 
so active as they could wish, yet they liked him for one 
thing particularly, which was, he always told the truth ; 
even when he had done any thing amiss, he never tried to 
conceal it by telling a falsehood." 

Chap. ix. ver. 10.— He shall speak peace unto the 



ZECHARIAH XI. ~-~7 

heathen ; and his dominion shall he from sea even to 
sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 
The late Mr John Croumbie of Haddington, some time 
before his death, calling on one of bis customers, his friend 
said unto him, " I am sure, Mr Croumbie, you need not 

care for business." He replied, " It is true, Mrs , but 

if I were to give over business, I would not be so able to 
assist the various societies that are formed for diffusing the 
knowledge of the gospel through the world." The same 
excellent person, in his last illness, after expressing his sur- 
prise that some Christians kept back from the support of 
these institutions, said, with peculiar emphasis, Ci O how I 
pity the poor heathen, who have nothing to support their 
minds in the prospect of eternity /" His feelings were 
evidently excited by his own situation, and a conviction 
of the misery he would feel, if his mind had not been sup- 
ported by the gospel in the near prospect of entering into 
an eternal state. 

Chap. x. ver. 2. — The diviners have seen a lie. 

A reformed gipsy, making a visit to a parish in which 
one of her children was born, near Basingstoke, entered 
the cottage of an old couple who sold fruit, &c. Tea being 
proposed, the old woman expressed her surprise that she 
had not seen her visitor for so long a time, saying she was 
glad she was come, as she wanted to tell her many things, 
meaning future events. She mentioned a great deal that 
another gipsy woman had told her ; on which the reformed 
one exclaimed — " Don't believe her, dame. It is all lie?. 
She knows no more about it than you do. If you trust to 
what she says, you will be deceived." The old woman 
was still more surprised, and asked how she, who had so 
often told their fortunes, and had premised them such good 
luck, could be so much altered ? The woman, taking her 
Testament from her bosom, replied, " I have learned from 
this blessed book, and from ivy kind friends, 4 that all liars 
shall have their portion in the lake that burnetii with brim- 
stone and fire ;' and rather than tell fortunes again, I 
would starve." 

Chap. xi. ver. 8. — Three shepherds also I cut off 
in one month. 

A clergyman was spending an evening, — not in his closet, 



4-28 ZECHARIAH XIU. 

wrestling with God in prayer, — not in his study, searching 
the Scriptures, and meditating on divine truth, with the 
view of being prepared for public usefulness, — nor in pas- 
toral visits to the flock under his care — but at the card- 
table ! He left the room for a few moments, desiring his 
wife to deal his cards till his return. This she had done ; 
but he did not come back. The cards waited, the conver- 
sation was kept up, still he returned not. At length, sur- 
prised at his absence, his wife withdrew to seek him. She 
found him in his chamber a lifeless corpse ! It is observ- 
able, that within a very few years, this was the third cha- 
racter (clerical, it is presumed,) in the same neighbourhood, 
who had been suddenly taken from the pleasures of a card- 
table to the bar of God ! 

Chap. xii. ver. 1. — The Lord — which formeth the 
spirit of man within him. 

" At a catechising of one of the schools," says a mission- 
ary in India, " a Brahmin interrupted us, by saying that 
the spirit of man and the Spirit of God were one. In 
order to show him the absurdity of such a declaration, we 
called upon the boys to refute it, by telling us the difference 
between the spirit of man and God. They readily gave 
the following answer : — < The spirit of man is created — 
God is its Creator : the spirit of man is full of sin — God 
is a pure Spirit : the spirit of man is subject to grief — God 
is infinitely blessed, and incapable of suffering : these two 
spirits, therefore,* replied the boys, e can never be one.'* " 

Chap. xiii. ver. 9. — I will bring the third part 
through the fire, and will refine them as silver is 
refined. 

Sarah Howard, a poor old widow, who had been bed- 
ridden fourteen years, when visited by her minister, thus 
spoke of her afflictions : — " I can set to my seal that the 
Lord has chastened me sore, but he hath not given me over 
unto death. I have been chastened in my person, and am 
quite helpless, by long and severe illness ; I have been 
chastened in my circumstances ever since I was left a 
widow : yes, I know what oppressing a widow, what bad 
debts and hard creditors are : I have been chastened in my 
family, by a son, whom I was doatingly fond of, running 
away and going to sea. Besides ail these, I have been 



MALACHI II. 429 

chastened in mind, * walking in darkness and having no 
light :' yet, after all, I trust I can say with David, ' Be- 
fore I was afflicted I went astray, but now I have kept thy 
word.' And I hope I can say that I am now returned to 
the Shepherd and Bishop of souls." 

Chap. xiv. ver. 7. — At evening time it shall be 
light. 

Mr RobsTt Glover, one of the English martyrs, a little 
before his death, had lost the sense of God's favour, which 
occasioned great heaviness and grief; but when he came 
within sight of the stake at which he was to suffer, he ex- 
perienced such abundant comfort and heavenly joy, that, 
clapping his hands together, he cried out, " He is come, 
he is come !" and died triumphantly. 



MALACHI. 



Chap. i. ver. 13. — Ye said also, Behold, what a 
weariness is it ! 

One Sabbath morning, a minister in Wakefield had not 
proceeded far in his discourse, when he observed an indi- 
vidual in a pew just before him rise from his seat, and turn 
Tound to look at the clock in the front of the gallery, as if 
the service were a weariness to him. The unseemly 
act called forth the following rebuke: — "A remarkable 
change,'* said the speaker, " has taken place among the 
people of this country in regard to the public service of 
religion. Our forefathers put their clocks on the outside 
of their places of worship, that they might not be too late 
in their attendance. We have transferred them to the in- 
side of the house of God, lest we should stay too long in 
the service. A sad and an ominous change !" 

Chap. ii. ver. 14. — The Lord hath been witness 
between thee and the wife 6f thy youth, against 
whom thou hast dealt treacherously : yet is she thy 
companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 

" I was called," says the Rev. Richard Cecil, " to visit 
a woman whose mind was disordered ; and, on my observ- 
ing that it was a case which required the assistance of a 



430 MALACHI HI. 

physician rather than that of a clergyman, her husband re- 
plied, ' Sir, we sent to you, because it is a religious case ; 
her mind has been injured by constantly reading the Bible.' 
— I have known many instances, said I, of persons brought 
to their senses by reading the Bible ; but it is possible that 
too intense an application to that, as well as to any other 
subject, may have disordered your wife. ( There is every 
proof of it,' said he ; and was proceeding to multiply his 
proofs, till his brother interrupted him by thus addressing 
me : — c Sir, I have no longer patience to stand by and see 
you so imposed on. The truth of the matter is this : My 
brother has forsaken his wife, and been long connected with 
a loose woman. He had the best of wives in her, and one 
who was strongly attached to him ; but she has seen his 
heart and property given to another, and, in her solitude 
and distress, went to the Bible as the only consolation left 
her. Her health and spirits at last sunk under her troubles, 
and there she lies distracted, not from reading her Bible, 
but from the infidelity and cruelty of her husband.' — Does 
the reader wish to know what reply the husband made to 
this ? — He made no reply at all ; but left the room with 
confusion of face !" 

Chap. iii. ver. 8. — He shall sit as a refiner and 
purifier of silver. 

A short time ago, there were a few ladies in Dublin who 
met together to read the Scriptures and converse upon them. 
When reading the third chapter of Malachi, one of the ladies 
gave it as her opinion that the fullers' soap and the refiner 
of silver were only the same image, intended to convey the 
same view of the sanctifying influences of the grace of 
Christ. u No," said another, " they are not just the same 
image : there is something remarkable in the expression in 
the third verse, c He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of sil- 
ver.' " They all said that possibly it might be so. This 
lady was to call on a silversmith, and promised to report to 
them what he said on the subject. She went, without tell- 
ing him the object of her errand, and begged to know the 
process of refining silver, which he fully described to her. 
c( But do you sit, Sir," said she, " while you are refining ?" 
u O yes, Madam, I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on 
the furnace, since if the silver remain too long it is sure to 
be injured." "And how do you know when it is sum- 



MALACH1 IV. 431 

ciently refined, Sir ?" " Whenever I see my own image 
reflected in it, I know the process is completed." She at 
once saw the beauty and the comfort too of the expression, 
" he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Christ 
sees it needful to put his children into the furnace, but he 
is seated by the side of it. His eye is steadily intent on 
the work of purifying, and his wisdom and love are en- 
gaged to do all in the best manner for them. Their trials 
do not come at random ; the very hairs of their head are 
all numbered. 

Chap. iv. ver. 2. — Unto you that fear my name 
shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in 
his wings. 

Kaiarnack, the first Greenland convert of the Moravian 
missionaries, had a peculiar felicity in communicating in- 
struction to the savages, and could illustrate divine truths 
to them better than they, introducing striking remarks and 
profitable observations, which could not easily have been 
done by his teachers, while his exemplary walk gave force 
to his words. Once when invited to a sun-dance, " 1 have 
now," answered he, " another kind of joy, for another Sun, 
Jesus, has arisen on my heart ;" and then explained to 
them the origin and nature of his joy, in a manner that 
silenced and amazed them. 



INDEX. 



$y The Figures refer to the Pages, 



Admonition, a serious, 70. 
Advice, 95, 148, 177, 193, 292, 301, 

312, 403, 413. 
Affection, proof of, 18, 25, 60. 

animal. 334, 372, 419. 

■ filial, 18, 26, 118, 119, 



137. 

fraternal, 25, 28, 105, 146. 

in a slave, 40. 

Affliction, useful, 105, 146, 219,291, 
295, 321, 341, 423, 430. 

Ambition, 171. 

Amusements, cruel, 114. 

■ follv of vain, 225. 

theatrical, 167, 303. 

Animals- 
Buffalo, 153— Bull, 129— Clams, 
96— Eagle, 234— Elephant, 8— 
Fishes, 392— Flies, 70, 322— Lark 
and Hawk, 259— Lion, 280, 332, 
4"! R— Locusts, 405— Parr->U 89— 
Scorpion, 84— Sea Snak , 411 — 
Shark and Pilot Fish, 219— Sheep, 
50— Tiger, 176— Turtle-doves, 54 
—Whale, 235. 

Apologue, beautiful, 221. 

Assassination, 365. 

Atonement, sufficiency cf the, 53. 



B. 

Babel, the Tower of, 9. 
Babylon, the City of, 325, 369. 
Backslider restored, 405. 
Bad company, frightened, 350. 
Beauty improved, 17. 
Begging put down, 370. 
Believer, safety of the, 331. 
Benevolence, 175, 184, 202. 



Bible, the abused, 364. 

and Highland Soldiers, 147. 

inspiration of the, 275, 4'J3. 

scarce, 410. 

the only rule of faith, 43. 

translated, 150. 

value of the, 169, 210, 226, 

287, 302. 
Bible Society, success of the, 264. 
Birds singing, 421. 
Birth dav, the new, 408. 
Bishop, the, and Blacksmith, 188. 
Boasting, vain, 126, 165, 214, 323. 
Book of bank-notes, 354. 
Books, irreligious, burnt, 198. 
Brethren, the four, compared, 373. 



Catechising, dutv of. 268. 
Character of Alexander the Great, 9. 

importance of, 145. 

loss of, 349. 



Charity, christian, 69, 155, 184. 
Choice, wise, 99, 184, 243, 257, 262. 
Cholera Morbus, 356, 418. 
Christ, the sinner's hope, 43, 161, 

222, 228, 294, 367- 
Christian resignation, 28. 
Civility, 15. 
Comfort, 165, 233, 248. 

to the awakened, 346. 



Commander, pious, 189. 
Company, bad, dreaded, 247. 
Conciliating address, 111. 
Conscience, power of, 76, 93, 16; 

27L 319, 380,421. 
Conscientious scruples, 68. 
Consistency of conduct, 307» 
Contentment, 160, 225. 
Contrast, a, 207, 237, 295, 29] 

383. 



337, 



INDEX. 



433 



Conversation, useful, 5, 85, 184, 

241, 245, 264, 317- 

: unprofitable, 215. 

Conversion, 59, 96, 186, 216, 235, 

301, 340, 348, 378, 387, 400, 402, 

404. 
Corpulence, 108. 
Covetousness, 100. 
Criticism, candid, 230. 
Cruelty, 19, 166, 364, 407, 429. 
Custom, a pious, 290. 
Customs, Eastern, 55, 63, 103, 123, 

139, 168, 194, 366, 375, 376. 



D. 

Dark prospects, 267» 
Death, accidental, 105. 

affectiDg, 413. 

awful, 170, 225, 276. 

desired, 219, 273, 314. 

happy, 63, 72, 97, 239, 242, 

299, 324. 

minister's, lamented, 200. 

preparation for, 223, 257, 



442, 



- sudden, 7, 220, 222, 258, 295, 



Deism unreasonable, 351. 
Deist converted, 283. 
Deity of Christ, 6, 425. 
Denial, self, 65. 
Despair, danger of, 355. 
Detraction reproved, 66, 241, 257. 
Disputants reconciled, 10. 
Discipline, parental, 305. 
Discontentment punished, 67, 70. 
Divine assistance given, 355. 

assistance withheld, 356. 

manifestations, 295. 

retributions, 36, 73, 107, 126, 

144, 159, 194, 198, 236, 249, 257, 

262, 291, 417, 424. 

. threatening verified, 377* 

Doctrine tested, 417. 

Dream, remarkable, 22,27, 42, 110, 

196, 231, 393, 396. 
Drinking, unnecessary, avoided, 

315. 
Drunkard mimicked, 8. 
Duty, faithful discharge of, by- 
Children, 83, 84, 118, 392. 

Judges, 157, 203, 230. 

Kings, 100, 152. 

Ministers, 165, 167, 211, 321. 

Mothers, 31, 83, 302, 331, 352. 

Officer, 24, 51, 80. 

Servants, 20, 57. 



Early Piety, 50, 121, 153, 180, 239, 

251, 259, 261. 

rising, 98, 318. 

Earthquake, 352. 
Economy, 208. 
Education, benefits of, 21. 

1 — importance of, 99. 

Eloquence, power of, 201. 

Emperor, the generous, 134, 170. 

Error renounced, 362. 

Eternity, a broad view of, 345. 

Evangelical preaching, 48. 

Evil speaking, 202, 253. 

Evil spirits, 415. 

Example, effects of bad, 391. 

Excuses, vain, 404. 

Experience, christian, 250, 262, 280, 

286, 289, 401. 
Eyes, right use of the, 246. 



F. 

Fact, a singular, 375. 

Faith, life of, 421. 

Falls of Niagara, awful incident at, 

412. 
Fame of Boerhaave, 178. 

posthumous, what, 385. 

Family religion and order, 12, 187, 

237, 259, 274, 297. 

a numerous, 291. 



Fasting and prayer, 204, 20G, 245. 
Filial duty outraged, 143, 144, 310. 
Flattery reproved, 240, 309, 395. 
Forgetfulness of God, 388. 
Forgiveness, 132, 153, 252. 
Fortitude, 95, 109. 
Fortune-teller, 57, 89, 169, 1/6, 427- 
Fratricide, 192. 
Freedom prized, 87, 362. 
Free-will offerings, 49, 201. 
Fretfulness and good humour, 71. 
Friendship, 306. 



Gain, the martyr's, 352. 
Game changed, 190. 
Generosity, 25,91, 131, 135, 14< , 145. 
— in a lion, 408. 



2o 



Generous conduct in war, 10, 195. 
Ghost laid, 132. 
Giants, 102, 180. 

God, a Husband and Father to hii 
people, 264. 



434 



INDEX. 



God's Faithfulness, 8, 265, 340. 

Incomprehensibility, 228. 

Mercy, 282, 294. 

Names, 34/. 

■ Omnipresence, 254, 2J4. 

u Omniscience, 11, 51, 195, £54. 

Power, 318. 

Sovereignty, 33, 361, 424. 

— — Spiritualityand Glory, 45,338, 

398. 
Good for evil, 161, 226, 238, 251, 

283, 289, 309. 
Good men unambitious, 182, 
Gratitude to God, 30, 52, 184, 284. 
■ to man, 10/, 124, 310. 

H. 

Hand- bill, usefulness of a, 156. 

Happiness, true, 132. 

Heathenism and Christianity, 2/6, 

290, 300, 306, 320, 324. 
Heaven, 272, 316, 

its distance, 397. 

i hope of, 383. 

preparation for, 390. 

Honesty, 40, 52, 87, 161. 
Honour, civic, declined, 329. 

true, 178. 

Hopes irreconcilable, 198. 

Hospitality, 116. 

Humanity, 91. 

Humility, 102, 113, 164, 266, 377, 

405. 
Hymns, usefulness of Watts', 174, 

255. 



I. 

Idolaters and idolatry, 45, 94,110, 
112, 122, 188, 260, 285, 293, 336, 
419. 

Ignorance, gross, 169, 172, 241, 401. 

Impiety and'irreligion, 293, 384, 385. 

reproved, 197, 223, 429. 

Impressions, first, 302. 

Industry, 220. 

motives to, 427. 

Infanticide, 266, 355. 

Infidel, his fears, 121, 228, 258. 

his impious boast, 208. 

silenced, 82, 193, 315. 

Inhumanity, 307. 

Injustice, 92, 270. 

Innkeeper, unprincipled, 407. 

Inscriptions, 20, 279, 390. 

Insensibility, 409. 

Instruction desired, 300. 

Integrity, 321, 334, 358. 



Intemperance, 53, 131, 141, 152, 164, 

• 302. 

Irreverence censured, 199. 



J. 

Jews, 94, 205, 371, 379. 

how to preach to, 415. 

Jov, christian, 72, 343, 429, 431. 
Judgment, dav of, 38, 224, 278. 
Justice, 14, 37, 150, 179, 311. 

K. 

King asking counsel, 394. 

firmness of a, 112. 

foolish, 329. 

— — kind, 182. 

prayer of a, 261, 296. 

prepared for death, 27* 

■ uses of a, 117. 

King's daughter in disguise, 255. 



L. 

Landlords, the considerate, 217, 3*5, 
Laws, basis of good, 97. 
Learning perverted, 378. 
Leper drowned, 54. 
Liberality, 61, 284, 304, 422. 
Life, its shortness, 423. 

preserved by a Bible, 139. 

Look at home, 320. 
Lord's Table, the, 317. 
Lots, 181. 
Love to Christ, 308, 316. 

to the brethren, 52. 

of the world dangerous, 322. 



M. 

Magistrates, 116. 
Magnanimity, christian, 203. 
Marriage, 65, 66, 79, 106, 366. 
Means, proper use of, 54. 
Meditation, sweets of, 19. 
Melancholy, 232. 

removed, 268. 



Merit rewarded, 153. 
Mimick taken off, 408. 
Minister of the Gospel, a careless, 
386. 

his dignity, 44. 

his diligence, 63, 41. 

his fears, 31, 265, 332. 

his fidelity, 64, 125, 373, 



394. 



INDEX. 



435 



Minister, his firmness, 56, 213. 

his ground of success, 357. 

his success, 400. 

his humility, 69. 

Missionaries, their unsuccessful at- 
tempt, 31. 

■ their success, 210, 385. 

Missionary contributions, 42, 46, 48, 
76, 93, 182, 423. 

Mockery and insult, 113, 188, 197* 
200, 207, 335. 

Monitor to the Young, 282. 

Moravians, their calmness in dan- 
ger, 282. 

Mothers, the unnatural, 148, 406. 

Motives, 103, 296, 309, 312, 427. 

Murder discovered, 6, 162, 227. 

prevented, 244, 252, 281,365, 

411. 

Music, mournful, 414. 

power of, 127. 

N. 

Name of Jesus, a test, 299. 
Nobleman, a pious voung, 20. 
Negro, a praying, 395. 



Oath of friendship, 13. 
Obedience, necessity of, 90. 
Officer, the suspected, 310. 
Old age, a happy, 15. 
Opposition, use of, 33. 
Order, use of, 62, 77. 
Ordinances, love of, 30. 
Origin of spiritual life, 388. 
Orphans, the two, 246. 
Ostentation reproved, 164. 



Parents, negligent, 121, 148. 
Passion, 16, 214, 303, 414. 
Paternal duty outraged, 135. 
Peace-makers, the, 19, 86, 288. 
Persecution and persecutors, 29, 35, 
88, 130, 155, 189, 191, 202, 325, 365. 
Pestilence, 186, 2/4. 
Physician, pious, 13. 
Piety venerated, 314. 
Pious poor preferred, 279. 
Plea for attention, 425. 
Poison avoided, 403. 
Popery and Papists, 86, 193. 

■ renounced, 72. 

Population, 104. 

Praise, 181, 185, 192, 266, 300. 



Prayer answered, 12, 81, 122, 131, 

138, 235, 263, 272, 336, 357, 404. 
— — — answered in wrath, 281. 

duty of, 47, 125, 140. 

ejaculatory, 254. 

family, 138, 178, 392. 

meeting revived, 392. 

of three words, 354. 

secret, in a field, 15. 



public, 149. 

various, 245. 

Praying, what is it ? 360. 

Preaching, 253, 348, 358, 374. 

before a king, 410. 

■ impressive manner of, 

345, 389. 

Pride, 171, 89, 292, 351. 

Prisoners released, 100. 

Procrastination, 13, 104, 206, 269 , 
404. 

Promises fulfilled, 376. 

Prophecy, 104, 369, 383, 384. 

Prophesyings, Bacon's account of, 
159. 

Prospect, an interesting, 368. 

Protection, Divine, 236, 295,316,326. 

Providence, and Providential deli- 
verances, 22, 32, 34, 48, 54, 90, 98, 
124, 129, 158, 173, 215, 233, 250, 
283, 288, 297, 313, 327, 361, 436, 

Punctuality, 119. 

Purgatory," 44. 

R. 

Rapacity, 123. 

Raven and Dr Clarke, 311. 

Reading, what kind useful, 308, 

343. 
Reconciliation, 143, 191. 
Reflection after Sermon, 87* 

before Sermon, 339. 

of a boy deaf and dumb, 

287- 



- of a conqueror, 218, 419. 

of a convert, 342. 

of a culprit, 344. 

of a general, 285. 

of Howard, 328. 

on the death of minis- 
ters, 73, 138. 

of a murderer, 173. 

of a negro, 64. 

of a profligate, 237. 

of a shepherd, 232. 

- of a traveller, 70, 383. 



Reformation, slow, 104. 
Refuge, the, 333. 
Religion in ships, 330, 339. 

' inspires courage, 61. 

true, exemplified, 10. 



I Remorse, 154. 



436 INDEX. 



Rencounter, fatal, 136. 
Reproof, 140, 296, 304, 361. 
Restitution, 115. 
Retirement valued, 367. 
Return to duty, 389- 
Revenge, 387-* 
Revivals in religion, 360. 
Right of subjects regarded, 188, 203, 
341. 

S. 

Sabbath observed, 5, 36, 59, 73, 74, 
211, 344. 

profaned, 46, 271, 382. 

zeal for the, 211, 212, 251, 

348, 371. 

Sandwich Islands, 108, 146, 151, 383. 

Saviour, definition of a, 327. 

Scoffer silenced, 99, 268. 

Scripture illustrations, 331— Anoint- 
ing, 245— Arabia, 101— Arrows, 
382— Assembling, places for, 117 
— Boats, 327— Burial, 142— Cana, 
84— Cedars, 269, 380— Cuttings, 
368— Dew, 402— Fountain, 134— 
Garments, 214— Gates shut, 209— 
Hospitality, 85— Locusts, 405, 406 
— Marriage, 172, 401— Medal, 341 
—Money, 391— Mourning, 326— 
— Pits or Vaults, 365 — Procession, 
137— Refreshments, 424— Rivers, 
284— Rock, 114— Sea, dead, 78, 81 
—Trees, 149— Vines, 67— Water, 
332. 

Sergeant, the, promoted, 24. 

Secession in Heaven, 335. 

Self-knowledge, value of, 372. 

Shilling, the well-spent, 229. 

Silence, danger of, 347. 

Simplicity, 234. 

Sin, what, 309, 342. 

Sinners' danger, 223, 260, 375, 381 . 

Slavery, sin and horrors of, 29, 79, 
224, 372. 

Socinianism, 108. 

Soldiers, Highland, 62. 

Spanish Armada, 35, 215. 

Speculation tested, 234, 417- 

Spiritual beings compared, 428. 

Sport, cruel, 304. 

Students, the irreligious, 197- 

Studies, divine assistance in, 397. 

— — — — useful course of, 159. 

Submission, duty and advantage 
of, 142, 156, 177, 218, 323, 327, 
330, 347. 

FI 



Suicide committed, 144, 380. 

prevented, 230, 249, 353. 

Superstition, 32, 55, 58, 160, 351, 359. 
Swearing reproved, 39, 59, 128, 168, 
278, 295, 420. 

T. 

Temperance, 64, 113, 363. 
Temptation, danger of, 162, 190, 
379, 407. 

resisted, 185, 363, 393. 



Text, monitorv, 359. 
Thanksgiving, 218. 
Thunder storms, 248, 338, 424. 
Time lost, 1, 367. 

its shortness, 274. 

Transition, sudden, 174. 
Trifling preacher, 349. 
Triumph in death, 255, 330, 429. 
Trust in God, 173, 175, 244, 252. 256, 

277, 369. 
Truth, 109, 119, 130, 216, 253, 426. 
Types of Christ, 17, 43, 111. 
Tyranny, 312. 

U. 

Unexpected inquiry, 316, 318, 392. ' 

— reply, 240, 305, 339, 350, 

408. 

— honour, 1 79. 



Unfaithful Clergyman, 386. 



Valour, true, 180, 242. 
Vows obligatory, 74, 313, 422. 

W. 

Walls, Roman, in Britain, 103. 
War and peace, 35, 416. 
Water bought, 16. 
Wealth abused, 221. 

*— devoted to God, 181,183, 422. 

vanity of, 322, 376, 384. 



Widow's right, 230. 

her debt paid, 386. 



Will, the minister's, 183. 
Witchcraft and truth, 416. 
Worship, familv, 10. 



, Zeal tested, 72, 265. 
j youthful, 44, 55. 

NIS. 



H. & J. PILLANS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. 



^NECDOTES 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF 



SELECT PASSAGES IN EACH CHAPTER 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



* JOHN WHITECROSS, 

AUTHOR OF "ANECDOTES iVlLUSTRATlVE OF THE ASSEMBLY'S 
SHORTER CATECHISM," &C. 



FOURTH ED IT I OX. 



EDINBURGH: 
WILLIAM OLIPHANT AND SON, 

7, SOUTH BRIDGE STREET. 

SOLD BY W. COLLTNS, GLASGOW J M r . CURRY, JUN. & CO. DUBLIN; 

AND HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO., LONDON. 



MDCCCXL. 



EDINBURGH : 
OLIPHANT IUN. & CO,, PRINTERS, 23, SOUTH BRIDGE STREET. 



PREFACE. 



Many persons will perhaps be ready to acknow- 
ledge, that, while almost the whole of a sermon, or 
other discourse, has been forgotten, some striking 
incident related in it, besides making a peculiar im- 
pression at the moment, has been long afterwards 
remembered. In the course of reading New Tes- 
tament Scripture in a family or school, the parent 
or teacher is furnished, in the present work, with an 
anecdote or two, under each chapter, by relating 
which, he may fix and enliven the attention of his 
children or pupils, and, at the same time, by agree- 
able associations, impress the passages illustrated 
more deeply on their youthful recollections. The 
publication, though chiefly intended for the benefit 
of the young, may not, however, be uninteresting 
to more advanced readers. 

The Author is sensible that the anecdotes are not 
all of equally direct bearing on the passages to which 
they are applied. This in any case could not rea- 
sonably be expected, and more particularly as the 



4 PREFACE. 

compiler has been precluded from the use of up- 
wards of five hundred anecdotes in the enlarged edi- 
tions of his work illustrative of the Assembly's Shor- 
ter Catechism, most of which would have suited 
this volume, but which it was deemed improper to 
admit. 

It is the prayer of the compiler, that the blessing 
of God may accompany the perusal of this little 
work. 

Edinburgh, October \ 1838, 



ANECDOTES 



NEW TESTAMENT. 



MATTHEW. 

Chap. i. ver. 21. — She shall bring forth a son, and 
thou shalt call his name Jesus : for he shall save his 
people from their sins. 

The late Rev. John Brown of Haddington, in his last illness, 
having heard the bells ringing, and understanding it to be the 
King's Birth-day, said, " O, blessed be God, however worthy 
our Sovereign be, we have a better King's Birth-day to cele- 
brate. Unto us was born in the city of David, a Saviour, who 
is Christ the Lord ! On account of that event, the Gospel- 
bells have been sounding for ages past; and they will ring 
louder and louder still. O, a Saviour ! — The Son of God, our 
Saviour ! O, his kindness, his kindness ! — A Saviour, a hus- 
band to sinners, to me !" 

It was well observed by a minister, in a sermon on 1 Tim. i. 
15, that " The compassion of Christ inclines him to save sinners, 
— the power of Christ enables him to save sinners, — and the 
promise of Christ binds him to save sinners." 

i. 23 — They shall call his name Immanuel, which, 

being interpreted, is, God with us. 

The Rev. Henry Martyn, when at Dinapore, in India, writes 
thus : — " Upon showing the Moonshee the first part of John 
iii. he instantly caught at those words of our Lord, in which he 
first describes himself as having come down from heaven, and 
then calls himself * the Son of Man which is in heaven.' He 
said that this was what the philosophers called ' nickal,' or im- 
possible, — even for God to make a thing to be in two different 



D MATTHEW II. 

places at the same time. I explained to him, as soon as his heat 
was a little subsided, that the difficulty was not so much in con-' 
ceiving how the Son of Man could be, at the same time, in two 
different places, as in comprehending that union of the two na- 
tures in him, which made this possible. I told him that I could 
not explain this union ; but showed him the design and wisdom 
of God in effecting our redemption by this method. I was 
much at a loss for words, but I believe that he collected my 
meaning, and received some information which he did not pos- 
sess before." 

ii. 16.— Herod was exceeding wroth, and sent 
forth, and slew all the children that were in Beth- 
lehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years 
old and under. 

In 1641, Sir Phelim O'Neal, and other Papists, commenced 
a universal massacre of the Protestants in Ireland. " No 
age," says Hume, " no sex, no condition, was spared. The 
wife, weeping for her butchered husband, and embracing her 
helpless children, was pierced with them, and perished by the 
same stroke, In vain did flight save from the first assault. De- 
struction was every where let loose, and met the hunted victims 
at every turn. They were stripped of their very clothes, and 
turned out naked and defenceless in all the rigours of winter. 
The feeble age of children, the tender sex of women, soon sunk 
under the multiplied rigours of cold and hunger. Here the 
husband, biding a final adieu to his expiring family, envied them 
that fate which he himself expected so soon to share ! There 
the son, having long supported his aged parent, with reluctance 
obeyed his last command, and abandoning him in his utmost 
distress, reserved himself to the hopes of avenging that death 
which all his efforts could not prevent or delay." Forty thou- 
sand persons, according to the lowest computation, perished 
in these massacres ! 

ii. 1 8. — In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamen- 
tation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel 
weeping for her children, and would not be comfort*- 
ed, because they are not. 

We learn from Le Brune's voyage to Syria, that the women 
go in companies, on certain days, to the tombs of their relations^ 



MATTHEW III. / 

in order to weep there ; and when they are arrived, they dis- 
play very deep expressions of grief. " While I was at Ramah," 
says he, " I saw a very great company of these weeping women, 
who went out of the town. I followed them, and, after having 
observed the place they visited, adjacent to their sepulchres, 
in order to make their usual lamentations, I placed myself on 
an elevated spot. They first went and seated themselves on 
the sepulchres, and wept there ; where, after having remained 
about half an hour, some of them rose up, and formed a ring, 
holding each other by the hand. Quickly two of them quitted 
the others, and placed themselves in the centre of the circle, 
where they made so much noise by screaming, and clapping 
their hands, as, together with their various contortions, might 
have subjected themselves to the suspicion of madness. After 
that they returned, and seated themselves to weep again, till 
they gradually withdrew to their homes. The dresses they 
wore were such as they generally used, white, or any other 
colour ; but when they rose up to form a circle together, they 
put on a black veil over the upper parts of their persons." 

iii. 7._But when he saw many of the Pharisees 
and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto 
them, O generation of vipers ! who hath warned you 
to flee from the wrath to come ? 

An irreligious young man went to hear Mr Whitefield, who 
took the above passage for his text : " Mr Whitefield," said the 
young man, " described the Sadducean character ; this did not 
touch me, — I thought myself as good a Christian as any man 
in England. From this he went to that of the Pharisees. He 
described their exterior decency, but observed that the poison 
of the viper rankled in their hearts. This rather shook me. 
At length, in the course of his sermon, he abruptly broke off", 
paused for a few moments, then burst into a flood of tears ; 
lifted up his hands and eyes, and exclaimed, ' Oh my hearers ! 
the wrath to come ! the wrath to come !' These words sunk 
deep into my heart, like lead in the waters. I wept, and, 
when the sermon was ended, retired alone. For days and 
weeks I could think of little else. Those awful words would 
follow me wherever I went, * The wrath to come ! the wrath 
to come !' " The result was, that the young man soon after 
made a public profession of religion, and in a short time became 
a very eminent preacher. 









© MATTHEW IV. 

iii. 8 — Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for re- 
pentance. 

" I pay more attention," says Mr Booth, " to people's lives 
than to their deaths. In all the visits I have paid to the sick 
during the course of a long ministry, I never met with one 
(who was not previously serious) that ever recovered from what 
he supposed the brink of death, who afterwards performed his 
vows, and became religious, notwithstanding the very great 
appearance there was in their favour when they thought they 
could not recover." 

iv. 10 — Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee 

hence, Satan. 

The Rev. Jeseph Alleine, having, shortly before his death, 
a conflict with Satan, said, 6l Away ! thou foul fiend, thou 
enemy of all mankind, thou subtile sophister ! Art thou come 
now to molest me, now I am just going — now I am so weak, 
and death upon me? Trouble me not, for I am none of thine ! 
I am the Lord's; Christ is mine, and I am his; his by cove- 
nant. I have sworn myself to be the Lord's, and his I will be ; 
— therefore begone!" These last words he often repeated, 
" which," says Mrs Alleine, " I took much notice of, that his 
covenanting with God was the means he used to expel the devil 
and all his temptations." 

iv. 19. — I will make you fishers of men. 

" It is now fifteen years," says the Rev. Risdon Darracott, 
in a letter, " since I was settled in this place (Wellington); and 
though I found religion at a very low ebb, it pleased God, by 
my poor ministration, to revive it soon on my first coming, and 
to continue it, more or less, in a flourishing state to this day. 
Every year there have been additions, and, in some years, very 
large, to the Church, of such as I hope will be saved. Up- 
wards of two hundred have been taken into communion, upon 
a credible profession, since my settlement ; many of them the 
most profligate in the places round us, whose change has been 
so remarkable, that the world at once bears their testimony to, 
and expresses their astonishment of it. Many of them so very ig- 
norant, as not to know the plainest and most common prin- 
ciples of religion ; yea, were not able to read a letter, who are 
now making the word of God their daily study and delight ; 
many, who never prayed in all their lives, and lived without 






MATTHEW V. V 

God in the world, who have attained to such a gift in prayer, 
as to be engaged, on particular occasions, in public, to the plea- 
sure and edification of all present, and whose houses, which 
were once dens of thieves, are now become Bethels, in which 
family worship is constantly and seriously performed. O, my 
dear Sir, rejoice with me, and let us exalt his name together ! 
You would be more astonished, did you know by what a poor, 
weak, sinful instrument this has been done. I assure you it 
has often humbled me to the dust when I think of it, and yet I 
am not humbled enough. O that I could lie lower before the 
Lord ! And that I were more affected with such grace, the very 
quintessence of grace." 

v. 23, 24. — If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and 
there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against 
thee ; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go 
thy way : first be reconciled to thy brother, and then 
come and offer thy gift. 

His late Majesty, George IV., wishing to take the sacra- 
ment, sent for the Bishop of Winchester to administer it. The 
messenger having loitered on his way, a considerable time 
elapsed before the bishop arrived, and some irritation had been 
manifested by the king. On the arrival of the reverend pre- 
late, his delay was complained of, and its cause explained. His 
Majesty immediately rang his bell, and commanded the atten- 
dance of the messenger. On his entering the room, he rebuked 
him sharply, and dismissed him from his service. Having done 
this, he addressed the bishop thus: " Now, my lord, if you 
please, we will proceed.'' His lordship, with great mildness, 
but at the same time with firmness, refused to administer the 
sacrament whilst any irritation or anger towards a fellow-crea- 
ture remained on the mind of His Majesty, who, suddenly recol- 
lecting himself, said, " My lord, you are right;" and then sent 
for the offending party, whose forgiveness and restoration to 
favour he pronounced in terms of great kindness and conde- 
scension. 

v. 28 — Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Fa- 
ther which is in heaven is perfect. 

A follower of Mr Wesley once asked the Rev. Mr Dunn of 
Portsea, whether he thought a state of sinless perfection attain- 






10 MATTHEW VII. 

able in this life? Mr D. replied, " Let us, my friend, seek 
after it as eagerly as if it were attainable." 

vi. 9. — Our Father which art in heaven. 

" How do you call the supreme Being?" said a Parsee to a 
Jew. " We call him," said the Jew, " Jehovah Adona, the 
Lord who is, and was, and is to come." " Your appellation," 
said he, " is grand and sublime, but it is awful too." A Chris- 
tian then approached, and said, " We call him Father, — 
this is the word of the heart." They all raised their eyes to 
heaven, and said, " Our Father!" and then took each other by 
the hand, and called one another brothers. 

vi. 34. — Take therefore no thought for the mor- 
row : for the morrow shall take thought for the things 
of itself. 

Mr Laurence, who was a sufferer for conscience' sake, if he 
would have consulted with flesh and blood, as was said of one 
of the martyrs, had eleven good arguments against suffering ; 
viz. a wife and ten children. Being once asked how he meant 
to maintain them all, he cheerfully replied, " They must all 
live on Matth. vi. 34. ' Take therefore no thought for the 
morrow,' " &c. Contentment and resignation in such trying cir- 
cumstances, are not only blessings to the possessors, but they fill 
observers with astonishment. Hence said Dr. W. to a poor 
minister, " I wonder Mr W. how you contrive to live so com- 
fortably; methinks, with your numerous family, you live more 
plentifully on the providence of God, than I can with all the 
benefits of my parish." 

vii. 13, 14. — Enter ye in at the strait gate: for 
wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth 
to destruction, and many there be which go in there- 
at : Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, 
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

The Duke of Hamilton, from a child, was remarkably serious, 
and took delight in reading his Bible. His mother, the Duchess, 
told a relation, that when he was playing about the room at nine 
years of age, she said to him, " Come, write me a few verses, 



MATTHEW VIII. 1 1 

and I will give you a crown." He sat down, took pen and 
paper, and in a few minutes produced the following lines : — 

" As o'er the sea-beat shore I took my way, 
I met an aged man who bade me stay ; 
' Be wise,*~said he, ' and mark the path you go, 
This leads to heaven, and that to hell below ; 
The way to life is difficult and steep, 
The broad and easy leads you to the deep.' " 

vii. 20. — Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know 

them. 

A gentleman lately deceased, who was eminent in the literary 
world, had his mind in early life deeply imbued with infidel 
sentiments. He and one of his companions of the same way of 
thinking, often carried on their conversation in the hearing of 
a religious, but illiterate countryman. This gentleman having 
afterwards become a serious Christian, was concerned for the 
countryman, lest his faith in the Christian religion should have 
been shaken by their remarks. One day he took the liberty to 
ask him, whether what had so frequently been advanced in his 
hearing had not produced this effect upon him ? " By no 
means," answered the countryman; " It never made the least 
impression upon me." " No impression on you !" said the 
gentleman ; " why, you must know that we had read and 
thought on these things much more than you had an oppor- 
tunity of doing." " O yes," said the other, " but your con- 
versation plainly showed me, that you had never read nor 
"thought much on your Bible; and besides, I knew also your 
manner of living ; I knew, that to maintain such a course of 
conduct, you found it necessary to renounce Christianity." 

viii. 1 1 — Many shall come from the east and west, 
and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and 
Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 

Mr Henry Bullinger, a little before his death, said, " If the 
Lord will make any further use of me. and my ministry, I will 
willingly obey him; but if he pleases (as I much desire) to take 
me out of this miserable life, I shall exceedingly rejoice to be 
taken from this corrupt age, to go to my Saviour Christ. So- 
crates," said he " was glad when his death approached, because 
he thought he should go to Hesiod, Homer, and other learned 
men deceased, whom he expected to meet in the other world ; 
how much more do I rejoice, who am sure that I shall see my 



12 MATTHEW IX. 



and 
odd. 



Saviour Christ, the saints, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, 
all holy men who have lived from the beginning of the world, 
Since I am sure to partake of their felicity, why should not I 
be willing to die, to enjoy their perpetual society in glory ?" 

viii. 29. — Art thou come hither to torment us 
before the time ? 

An aged elder, still living, remarkable for the kindliness of 
his manner, and the unobtrusive facility with which he can in- 
troduce religious topics and pious counsel in ordinary conver- 
sation, was one day lately a passenger in one of the Forth and 
Clyde canal boats, in company with a number of soldiers, who 
shocked him exceedingly with their profane swearing. Aware 
that an abrupt reproof, instead of producing the effect in- 
tended, might only provoke to an aggravation of the crime, he 
entered into familiar conversation with them, and, seizing a 
proper opportunity, inquired if any of them could tell him, 
what that sin was, in the commission of which men exceeded 
devils in wickedness ? As he anticipated, the singularity of 
the question arrested their attention, and engaged them in an 
unsuccessful attempt to point out the character of the sin. 
Having thus excited their curiosity, he quoted the above pas- 
sage, in which the devils address our Saviour, and remarked, 
that when men wantonly call upon God to damn their souls, 
they are far more wicked than the devils, who, knowing by 
experience how dreadful it is to suffer under the wrath of the 
Almighty, earnestly entreated our Saviour not to add to their 
torments. Such was the awe produced on their minds by this 
remark, that not an oath was uttered during the rest of the 
passage ; and at parting, the Serjeant in charge of the company 
shook hands with him, and cordially thanked him for his kind 
admonition and advice. 

ix. 2 — Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven 
thee. 

Professor Wodrow relates the following anecdote of Mr 
Donald Car gill " Mr Cargill was under very deep convic- 
tions of sin before his entry into the ministry, and while a stu- 
dent ; and that, with grievous temptations and fiery darts mix- 
ed in with it, and his too great reservedness, and not commu- 
nicating his case to such as might have given him counsel and 
support under it, drove him to terrible excesses ; in short, he 



MATTHEW IX. 13 

came to the very height of despair ; and, through indulging 
melancholy, and hearkening to temptations, he at length came 
to the resolution of putting an end to his miserable life. He 
was then living with his father, or some relation, in the parish 
of Bothwell, and, in the horrible hurry of these fiery darts, he 
went out once or twice to the river of Clyde, with a dreadful 
resolution to drown himself. He was still diverted by some- 
body or other coming by him, which prevented his design at 
that time. But the temptation continuing, and his horror by 
yielding to it increasing, he fell upon a method, in the execu- 
tion of which he thought he should not be prevented. On a 
summer morning very early, he went from the house where he 
dwelt to a more unfrequented place, where there were some 
old coal pits, and on coming up to one of them, was fully deter- 
mined to throw himself in ; but, when very near it, a thought 
struck him, that the coat and vest he had upon him being new, 
might be of some use to others, though he was unworthy to 
live, and deserved to be in hell ; and so he stepped back and 
threw them off, and then came up to the very brink of the pit ; 
and when just going to leap in, these words entered his mind, 
1 Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee.' He said 
it came with that power and life upon his spirit, which it was 
impossible for him to express, and he did not know whether it 
was by an immediate impression on his mind, or a direct voice 
from heaven (which last he was inclined to think), but it had 
such an evidence and energy accompanying it, as at once put 
an end to all his fears and doubts, and which he could no more 
resist, than he could do the light of a sunbeam darting upon his 
eye." 

ix. 36. — When he saw the multitudes, he was 
moved with compassion on them, because they faint- 
ed, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no 
shepherd. 

" Five hundred millions of souls," exclaims a missionary, 
" are represented as being unenlightened ! I cannot, if I 
would, give up the idea of being a missionary, while I reflect 
upon this vast number of my fellow-sinners, who are perishing 
for lack of knowledge. Five hundred millions ! intrudes itself 
upon my mind wherever I go, and however I am employed. 
When I go to bed, it is the last thing that recurs to my memory ; 
if I awake in the night, it is to meditate on it alone; and in 
the morning, it is generally the first thing that occupies my 
thoughts." b 



14 MATTHEW XI. 

x. 25. — It is enough for the disciple that he be as 
his master, and the servant as his lord. 

When the Mexican emperor, Gatimozin, was put upon the 
rack by the soldiers of Cortes, one of his nobles, who lay in 
tortures at the same time, complained piteously to his sove- 
reign of the pain he endured. " Do you think," said Gatimo- 
zin, " that I lie upon roses ?" The nobleman ceased moaning, 
and expired in silence. " "When a Christian," adds the pious 
Bishop Home, " thinks his sufferings for sin, in sickness, or 
pain, 8cc. intolerable, let him remember those of his Lord, 
endured patiently on that bed of sorrow, the cross, and he will 
think so no longer." 

x. 31 — Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more 
value than many sparrows. 

The Rev. Mr Xosworthy, who died in 1677, had, from the 
persecuting spirit of the times, been imprisoned in Winchester, 
where he met with much cruel usage. After his release, he 
was several times reduced to great straits. Once, when he and 
his family had breakfasted, and had nothing left for another 
meal, his wife, lamenting her condition, exclaimed, M What 
shall I do with my poor children ?" He persuaded her to walk 
abroad with him, and seeing a little bird, he said, " Take no- 
tice how that little bird sits and chirps, though we cannot tell 
whether it has been at breakfast; and if it has, it knows not 
whither to go for a dinner. Therefore be of good cheer, and 
do not distrust the providence of God, for are we not better 
than many sparrows?" Before dinner they had plenty of pro- 
visions brought them. Thus was the promise fulfilled, " They 
who trust in the Lord shall not want any good thing." 

xi. 26. — Even so, Father ; for so it seemeth good 
in thy sight. 

Several gentlemen visited a school in France, in which was 
a boy who "was both deaf and dumb. One of the gentlemen 
asked him who made the world ? The boy took his slate and 
wrote the first verse of the Bible, " In the beginning God 
created the heaven and the earth." He was then asked, " How 
do you hoped to be saved?" The child wrote, " This is a 
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
came intothe world to save sinners." The last question pro- 



MATTHEW XII. 15 

posed was, — " How is it that God has made you deaf and 
dumb, while all those around you can hear and speak ?" The 
poor boy seemed puzzled for a moment, and a suggestion of 
unbelief seemed to pass through his mind, but quickly recover- 
ing himself, he wrote, " Even so, Father, for so it seemeth 
good in thy sight." 

xi. 30 — My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

" I remember," says the Rev. Matthew Henry, in writing 
the account of his father's life, " a passage of his, in a lecture 
in the year 1674, which much affected many. He was preach- 
ing on that text, Matt. xi. 30, * My yoke is easy ;' and after 
many things insisted upon, to prove the yoke of Christ an easy 
yoke, he at last appealed to the experiences of all that had 
drawn in that yoke : * Call now, if there be any that will an- 
swer you, and to which of the saints will you turn ? Turn to 
which you will, and they will all agree that they have found 
wisdom's ways pleasantness, and Christ's commandments not 
grievous ; and (saith he) I will here witness for one, who, 
through grace, has in some poor measure been drawing this 
yoke now above thirty years, and I have found it an easy yoke, 
and like my choice too well to change.'" 

xii. 7 — I will have mercy, and not sacrifice. 

Archbishop Tillotson gave the most exemplary proof of his 
charity, at the revocation of the edict of Nautz, when thou- 
sands of Huguenots were driven over to this country, many of 
whom settled at Canterbury, where their posterity still con- 
tinue. The king having granted briefs to collect alms for 
their relief, Dr T. was peculiarly active in promoting their 
success ; Dr Beveridge, one of the Prebendaries of Canter- 
bury, refused to read the briefs as being contrary to the ru- 
brics ; he was silenced by Dr Tillotson, with this energetic 
reply, " Doctor, Doctor, charity is above rubrics." 

xii. 11. — What man shall there be among you 
that shall have one sheep, and if it shall fall into a 
pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, 
and lift it out ? 

A native of one of the South Sea Islands came and told the 
missionaries, that while he was attending public worship, a pig 



16 MATTHEW XIII. 

broke into his garden; tbat on bis return, he saw him devour 
the sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, taro, and other productions, 
but that he did not drive it out, because he was convinced it 
would immediately return, unless he repaired the broken fence, 
and that he supposed was a kind of labour prohibited on the 
Sabbath. He therefore allowed the pig to remain till he was 
satisfied, and did not mend the fence till the following morn- 
ing. He, however, wished to know, and the people in gene- 
ral were interested in the inquiry, — whether, in the event of a 
similar occurrence at any future period, he should do wrong in 
driving out the animal, and repairing the fence. He was told 
that the most secure way would be to keep the fence in good 
repair, but that, if pigs should break in on the Sabbath, they 
ought by all means to be driven out, and the breaches they 
had made so far repaired, as to secure the inclosure till the fol- 
lowing day. 

xiii. 1, 2 — Jesus sat by the sea-side, and great 
multitudes were gathered together unto him. 

George Wishavt, one of the first Scottish martyrs at the 
time of the reformation, being desired to preach one Lord's 
day in the church of Mauchline, went thither with that de- 
sign ; but the sheriff of Ayr had, in the night time, put a gar- 
rison of soldiers into the church to keep him out. Hugh 
Campbell of Kinzeancleugh, with others in the parish, were ex- 
ceedingly offended at this impiety, and would have entered the 
church by force; but Wishart would not suffer it, saying, 
" Brethren, it is the word of peace which I preach unto you; 
the blood of no man shall be shed for it this day. Jesus Christ 
is as mighty in the fields as in the church, and he himself, 
while he lived in the flesh, preached oftener in the desert and 
on the sea-side, than in the temple of Jerusalem." Upon this 
the people were appeased, and went with him to the edge of a 
moor on the south-west of Mauchline, where, having placed 
himself upon a mound of earth, he preached to a great multi- 
tude. He continued speaking for more than three hours, God 
working wondrously by him, insomuch that Lawrence Ranken, 
the Laird of Shield, a very profane person, was converted by 
his discourse. The tears ran from his eyes, to the astonish- 
ment of all present ; and the whole of his after life witnessed 
that his profession was without hypocrisy. 

xiii. 45, 46 The kingdom of heaven is like unto 



MATTHEW XIII. 17 

a merchantman seeking goodly pearls ; who, when 
he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold 
all that he had, and bought it. 

A wealthy lady of Java, having been married to an English 
merchant, came to reside in England. Being unacquainted 
with the language, together with the customs and manners of 
the country, nearly the whole of her time was spent in playing 
with her children, of whom she was very fond, and decking 
herself in her jewels and pearls, of which she had a large and 
costly collection. She often called for her treasure-box, and 
amused herself by first looking at a fine necklace, then at a 
beautiful pair of ear-rings, and held them up to glitter in the 
sun. There her treasure was, there was her heart also, and 
she thought there was little happiness beyond the contents of 
her box, and such like stones. Her Scotch nurse being one 
day in her room, in broken English, she said to her, — " Nurse, 
this poor place — poor place !" " Why, Madam?" asked her 
nurse. " Me look out of the window," replied the lady, " and 
see no woman in the street with jewels on — no jewels to be 
seen. In my country, all covered with diamonds and pearls. 
We dig into hills in our country, and we get gold and silver, 
and precious jewels. You dig into your hills, and get nothing 
but stones." The nurse replied, " O yes, Madam, we have a 
pearl in our country — a pearl of great price." The Javanese 
lady caught her words with great eagerness and surprise. 
" Pearl of great price ! Have you, indeed? O that my hus- 
band was come home ! He buy me this pearl ; me part with all my 
pearls when he come home, to get this pearl of so great price." 
" O," said the nurse, " this pearl is not to wear. It is not to 
be had in the way you think. It is a precious pearl, indeed ; 
and they who have it cannot lose it. They who have it are at 
peace, and have all they wish for." " Indeed," said the asto- 
nished lady, " what can this pearl be?' 1 " The pearl," said 
the nurse, " is the Lord Jesus ; and the saying, that he came 
into the world to save sinners. All who truly receive this 
saying, and have Christ in their hearts as the hope of glory, 
have that which makes them rich and happy, whatever else 
they want ; and so precious is Jesus to them, that they count all 
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of him." 
It pleased God to bless the nurse's words. She got a believing 
view of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and 
knowledge; and this world's gems ceased to shine and attract, 



18 MATTHEW XV. 

just as the stars lose their brightness before the morning sun, 
Sometime after, the lady died ; and on her death-bed, she de- 
sired that her jewels might be sold, and the produce go towards 
sending the knowledge of the peael of great price to those 
in far countries who have it not. She felt its value, and she 
wished that all the world might feel it too. 

xiv. 30. — Lord, save me. 

A minister asked the maid at an inn in the Netherlands, if 
she prayed to God? She replied, " She had scarce time to 
eat, how should she have time to pray ?" He promised to give 
her a little money, if, on his return, she could assure him she 
had meanwhile said three words of prayer, night and morn- 
ing. Only three words and a reward, caught her promise. 
He solemnly added, " Lord, save me !" For a fortnight she 
said the words unmeaningly ; but one night she wondered what 
they meant, and why he bade her repeat them. God put it 
into her heart to look at the Bible, and see if it would tell her. 
She liked some verses where she opened so well, that next 
morning she looked again, and so on. When the good man 
went back, he asked the landlord for her, as a stranger served 
him. " Oh, Sir ! she got too good for my place, and lives 
with the minister !" So soon as she saw the minister at the 
door, she cried, " Is it you, you blessed man? I shall thank 
God through all eternity that I ever saw you ; I want not the 
money, I have reward enough for saying those words !" She 
then described how salvation by Jesus Christ was taught her 
by the Bible, in answer to this prayer. 

xv. 9. — In vain do they worship me, teaching for 

doctrines the commandments of men. 

" A serious man from a neighbouring parish." says Dr La- 
trobe, " being one evening at my house on secular business, 
took occasion to inform me, that there was a great revival of 
religion in his neighbourhood. I expressed much pleasure at 
the intelligence, but asked him in what manner this happy re- 
vival discovered itself: — whether the people appeared more 
humble, more meek and peaceable, more kind and charitable, 
better united in their social relations, more virtuous in their 
lives, &c. He could not answer particularly with respect to 
these things ; but said, ' People were much engaged in attend- 
ing religious meetings ; they had private lectures as often as a 
preacher could be obtained, and they had conferences almost 



MATTHEW XVI. 19 

every evening.' I observed to him, that an attendance on the 
word preached was highly important, and a hopeful sign ; but 
asked him how it was on the Lord's Day ; whether they at- 
tended on the instituted worship of that day better than they 
used to do (for I knew they had been shamefully negli- 
gent of that duty). * Why, no,' said he, ' we don't go to 
meeting on the Sabbath.' What! I inquired, do you neglect 
God's institutions to observe your own ? The prophet marks 
this as a token of decay in religion." 

xv. 12. — Then came his disciples, and said unto 
him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, 
after they heard this saying ? 

Mr Dod having preached against the profanation of the Sab- 
bath, which much prevailed in his parish, and especially among 
the more wealthy inhabitants, the servant of a nobleman, who 
was one of them, came to him and said, " Sir, you have of- 
fended my lord to-day." Mr Dod replied, " I should not have 
offended your lord, except he had been conscious to himself that 
he had first offended my Lord ; and if your lord will offend my 
Lord, let him be offended." 

xvi. 23. — Jesus said unto Peter, Get thee behind 
me, Satan, thou art an offence unto me ; for thou 
savourest not the things that be of God, but those 
that be of men. 

" I remember many years ago," says one, " being struck by 
a little incident, in a parish where the incumbent, a man of 
most extraordinary Christian benignity, when in company with 
a clerical friend, rebuked in very plain terms one of his parish- 
ioners, for gross misbehaviour on a recent occasion. The re- 
proof was so severe as to astonish his friend, who declared, that 
if he had addressed one of his flock in similar language, he 
should have expected an irreconcileable breach. The clergy- 
man of the parish answered him with a gentle pat on the shoul- 
der, and with a smile of Christian wisdom, * O, my friend ! 
when there is love in the heart, you may say any thing.' " 

xvi. 26. — What is a man profited, if he shall gain 



20 MATTHEW XVII. 

the whole world and lose his own soul? or what 

shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? 

A person lately deceased, and who possessed a speculative 
acquaintance with divine truth, had, by unremitting industry, 
and carefully watching every opportunity of increasing his 
wealth, accumulated the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds. 
But alas ! he became engrossed and entangled with the world, 
and to its acquisitions he appears to have sacrificed infinitely 
higher interests. A dangerous sickness, that brought death 
near to his view, awakened his fears. Conscience reminded 
him of his neglect of eternal concerns, and filled him with 
awful forebodings of future misery. A little before he expired 
he was heard to say, " My possessions amount to twenty-five 
thousand pounds. One half of this my property I would give, 
so that I might live one fortnight longer, to repent and seek 
salvation ; and the other half I w ould give my dear and only 
son." 

xvii. 21 — Howbeit this kind goeth not out but 
by prayer and fasting. 

The following instance will serve to show the efficacy of 
prayer in expelling Satan from his usurped dominion in the 
soul ; and may, in a way of accommodation, illustrate the pas- 
sage to which it is applied : — 

A minister from England happening some time since to be 
at Edinburgh, was accosted very civilly by a young man in 
the street, with an apology for the liberty he was taking. — " I 
think, Sir," said he, " 1 have heard you at Spafields Chapel." 
" You probably may, Sir, for I have sometimes ministered 
there." " Do you remember," said he, " a note put up by an 
afflicted widow, begging the prayers of the congregation for 
the conversion of an ungodly son?" " I do very well remem- 
ber such a circumstance." " Sir," said he, " I am the very 
person ; and wonderful to tell, the prayer was effectual. Going 
on a frolic with some other abandoned young men, one Sun- 
day, through the Spafields, and passing by the chapel, I was 
struck with its appearance, and hearing it was a Methodist 
chapel, we agreed to mingle with the crowd, and stop for a 
few minutes, to laugh and mock at the preacher and the peo- 
ple. We had only just entered the chapel, when you, Sir, 
read the note, requesting the prayers of the congregation for 
an afflicted widow's son. 1 heard it with a sensation I cannot 






MATTHEW XVIII. 21 

express. I was struck to the heart ; and though I had no idea 
that I was the very individual meant, I felt that it expressed 
the bitterness of a widow's heart, who had a child as wicked as 
I knew myself to be. My mind was instantly solemnized. I 
could not laugh ; my attention was rivetted on the preacher. 
I heard his prayer and sermon with an impression very differ- 
ent from that which had carried me into the chapel. From 
that moment, the truths of the gospel penetrated my heart ; I 
joined the congregation; cried to God, in Christ, for mercy, 
and found peace in believing ; became my mother's comfort, 
as I had long been her heavy cross, and through grace have 
ever since continued in the good ways of the Lord. An open- 
ing having lately been made for an advantageous settlement in 
my own country, I came hither with my excellent mother, and 
for some time past, have endeavoured to dry up the widow's 
tears, which I had so often caused to flow ; and to be the com- 
fort and support of her old age, as I had been the torment and 
affliction of her former days. We live together in the enjoy- 
ment of every mercy, happy and thankful ; and every day I 
acknowledge the kind hand of my Lord, that led me to the 
Spafields Chapel." 

xvii. 27. — Notwithstanding, lest we should offend 
them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take 
up the fish that first coineth up ; and when thou hast 
opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money ; 
that take, and give unto them for me and thee. 

" For your taxes and tributes," says Justin Martyr to the 
emperors, " we are above all other men, everywhere ready to 
bring them to your collectors and officers, being taught so to 
do by our great Master, who bade those that asked the ques- 
tion, Whether they might pay tribute unto Csesar ? to give unto 
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things 
that are God's." 

xviii. 4. — Whosoever, therefore, shall humble him- 
self as this little child, the same is greatest in the 
kingdom of heaven. 

The celebrated Dr Franklin of America, once received a 
very useful lesson from the excellent Dr Cotton Mather, which 
he thus relates in a letter to his son, Dr Samuel Mather, dated 



22 MATTHEW XIX. 

Passy, 12th May, 1781 : — " The last time I saw your father, 
was in 1724. On taking my leave, he showed me a shorter 
way out of the house, through a narrow passage, which was 
crossed by a beam over-head. We were still talking as 1 with- 
drew, he accompanying me behind, and I turning towards him ; 
when he said hastily, Stoop — stoop ! I did not understand him 
till I felt my head hit against the beam. He was a man who 
never missed an occasion of giving instruction ; and upon this 
he said to me, — You are young, and have the world before you, 
Stoop as you go through it, and you will miss many hard 
thumps. This advice, thus beat into my head, has frequently 
been of use to me ; and I often think of it when I see pride 
mortified, and misfortunes brought upon people by carrying 
their heads too high." 

xviii. 15 — If thy brother shall trespass against 
thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him 
alone. 

When any member of Mr Kilpin's church at Exeter, came with 
details of real or supposed injuries, received from a fellow-mem- 
ber, after listening to the reporter, Mr K. would inquire if they 
had mentioned these grievances to their offending brother or 
sister. If the reply was in the negative, and usually it was so, he 
would then calmly order a messenger to fetch them, remarking, 
that it would be ungenerous to decide, and unscriptural to act, 
merely from hearing the statement of one party. This deter- 
mination always produced alarm, and the request that nothing 
might be mentioned to the parties implicated. This plan had 
a peaceful influence, and often produced humility and self-ac- 
cusation. Assertions and proofs are very different grounds for 
the exercise of judgment, and are more distinct than angry 
persons imagine. 

xix. 6 — What, therefore, God hath joined toge- 
ther, let not man put asunder. 

The wife of a pious man told him one day, that if he did not 
give over running after the missionaries, a name often applied 
to serious ministers of different denominations, she would cer- 
tainly leave him. Finding that he continued obstinate, she on 
one occasion sent for him from the harvest field, and informed 
him that she was about to carry her threat into execution ; and 



MATTHEW XX, 23 

that, before she left the house, she wished some articles divided, 
to prevent future disputes. She first produced a web of linen, 
which she insisted should be divided. " No, no," said the hus- 
band; " you have been, upon the whole, a good wife to me : 
if you will .leave me, though the thought makes my heart sore, 
you must take the whole with you ; you well deserve it all." 
The same answer was given to a similar proposal respecting 
some other articles. At last the wife said, " So you wish me 
to leave you?" " Far from that," said the husband, " I would 
do any thing but sin to make you stay ; but if you will go, I 
wish you to go in comfort." " Then," said she, " you have 
overcome me by your kindness ; I will never leave you." 

xix. 23. — Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Ve- 
rily, verily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall 
hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

" I had been known," says one, " to Mr Cecil, as an occa- 
sional hearer at St John's, and by soliciting his advice at my 
commencing master of a family ; but some years had passed 
since I enjoyed the pleasure of speaking to him, when he called 
at my house on horseback, being then unable to walk, and de- 
sired to speak with me. After the usual salutations, he address- 
ed me thus : — ' I understand you are very dangerously situat- 
ed !' He then paused. I replied, that I was not aware of it. 
He answered, * I thought it w T as probable you were not ; and 
therefore I called on you : I hear you are getting rich ; take 
care, for it is the road by which the devil leads thousands to 
destruction !' This was spoken with such solemnity and ear- 
nestness, that the impression will ever remain on my memory." 

xx. 6. — And about the eleventh hour he went out, 
and found others standing idle, and saith unto them 
Why stand ye here all the day idle ? 

An old sailor, who was very ragged, and whose white head 
spoke the lapse of many years, was leaning against a post in con- 
versation with another sailor. A member of the Bethel Union 
spoke to them, and particularly invited the old man to attend 
the prayer meeting. His companion, after hearing the nature 
of the invitation, said, " Thomas, go in! Come! come! man, 
go into the meeting ; it won't hurt you." " Pub ! puh !" cried 
the old seaman, " I should not know what to do with myself. 



E 



24 MATTHEW XX. 

I never go to church or prayer-meetings : besides, I am too 
old. I am upwards of seventy, and I am very wicked, and 
have always been so ; it is too late for me to begin, it is of no 
use; all is over with me, I must go to the devil."' After 
a moment's pause, the member, looking with pity upon the 
old veteran, answered, " You are the very man the prayer- 
meeting is held for." " How so ?" (with much surprise.) 
" Because Jesus Christ came into the world to save the chief 
of sinners. When young, I suppose, you were tempted to 
think it would be time enough to be religious when you came 
to be old?" " Ah! that I did," replied the sailor. " Now 
you are old, you say it is too late. Listen no longer to thes< 
suggestions ; come with me : no time is to be lost, for Jesus is 
waiting to save you, poor sinner, or he would have sent you to 
that place where hope never comes before this ; your sins de- 
serve it.'' His companion then said, " Thomas, go to the 
prayer-meeting. You have need, at your time of life, to pre- 
pare to die." He went, and attended regularly. Some time 
after, he was asked, " Well, my aged friend, do you think you 
are too much in years to be saved ? too old in sin for the blood 
of Christ to cleanse you?" " Xo, Sir," said he; "I bless 
God, I do feel hope, a blessed hope, which I would not give 
up for worlds ; a hope which encourages me to think that God 
will be merciful to me and pardon me, old sinner as I am. 

xx. 22. — Ye know not what ye ask. 

A fond father was in great distress for a favourite child, whom 
he apprehended to be dying in its infancy. Several of his 
friends endeavoured to assuage his grief, but he refused to be 
comforted. At length the minister on whom he attended offer- 
ed to pray with him, and desired him to compose his mind, and 
give up his favourite sen to the Divine disposal, since there was 
no probable hope of his recovery. He replied, " I cannot give 
him up ; and it is my importunate request that God would 
spare this child to me, whatever may be the consequence." He 
had his desire; the child recovered, and grew up, if possible, 
more and more his darling : but he lived to be a thorn in his 
side, and to pierce his heart with many sorrows. For just as 
he came to maturity, he robbed his excellent master, whom be- 
fore he had often injured. He was seized by the hand of jus- 
tice, tried, condemned, and died one of the most hardened 
wretches that ever went out of life in that ignominious manner. 
Upon the fatal day of execution, the mourning father was 



MATTHEW XXI. 25 

made to remember his former rash petition with grief and 
tears; and, humbled in the dust, confessed his folly and his 
sin. 

xxi. 16. — Out of the mouths of babes and suck- 
lings thou hast perfected praise. 

A Sabbath school having been opened near Hereford, a la- 
bouring man, who had a large family, sent his children there 
for the benefit of instruction ; the good effects of which soon 
appeared. It happened that, very near to this man's house, a 
place was opened for the worship of God, where service was 
performed every Sabbath evening at seven o'clock ; and this 
man and part of his family were in the habit of attending regu- 
larly. One Sabbath evening, the w r eather being very snowy, 
the man thought prudent to leave his children at home, and 
went alone. Some of these young ones, doubtless, were much 
disappointed in not being permitted to accompany their father, 
and thought they would have a meeting amongst themselves. 
The father, on his return home, was surprised at seeing a light 
up stairs in his cottage, and thought that the children must be 
retiring to bed. He opened the door of the cottage, and went 
softly up stairs, when, to his astonishment, he heard his young- 
est daughter, a child not more than six years old, in humble 
strains pouring forth her prayers to that God, through whose 
tender mercy it was that she had been taught to " remember 
the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." When she had finished her 
prayer, she called upon one of her little brothers to pray (for 
they were met together for that purpose), and thus they finish- 
ed this blessed day ; experiencing, it is hoped, the blessedness 
of that promise, — " Where two or three are gathered together 
in my name, there will I be in the midst of them." 

xxi. 22. — All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in 

prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

In the life of the Rev. Robert Blair, a Scottish minister 
of the seventeenth century, the following passage occurs : — 
" There having been incessant rain for a month in harvest, the 
corn was growing a finger length in the sheaves, and the whole 
crop was in hazard of perishing. In this deplorable situation, 
the people resolved solemnly, by humiliation and fasting, to 
beseech the Lord to avert the threatened famine. When the 
day came it rained heavily from morning till night ; so that the 



26 MATTHEW XXII, 

Lord seemed to be thrusting out their prayers from him. But 
that same night he sent a mighty wind, which did fully dry the 
corn and check the growing ; and this wind continuing to blow 
fair for two days, the people ceased, neither night nor day, till 
the whole corn was got in. During these two days, I and two 
neighbouring ministers were continuing our supplications and 
thanksgivings to the Lord for this great mercy." 

xxii. II — And when the king came in to see the 
guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wed- 
ding-garment. 

A person who had been for some time labouring under men- 
tal dejection, having dressed himself one Sabbath morning for 
church, and finding he had a few minutes to spend previous to 
leaving the house, took up his Bible with the view of reading 
a portion of Scripture. The first passage that caught his eye, 
was the above, " And when the king came in to see the guests," 
&c. The words strongly impressed his mind, particularly as- 
connected with the design he had of observing the ordinance 
of the Lord's Supper that day. When leaving his pew to go 
to the communion-table, they recurred with such discouraging 
force to his recollection, as to prevent his going forward, and, 
led him to return to his seat. He afterwards considered it as 
wrong, in having yielded so far to groundless apprehensions, 
and that a comparison of our state and character with the word 
of God, is the rational and proper way of ascertaining our fit- 
ness or unfitness to approach the table of the Lord. 

xxii, 21 Render therefore unto Caesar the things 

which are Caesar's ; and unto God the things that 
are God's. 

A boy about nine years of age, who attended a Sabbath 
School at Sunderland, requested his mother not to allow his 
brother to bring home any thing that was smuggled when he 
went to sea. " Why do you wish that, my child ?" said the 
mother. He answered, " Because my catechism says it is 
wrong." The mother replied, " But that is only the word of 
a man." He said, " Mother, is it the word of a man which 
said, ' Bender unto Ca?sar the things that are Caesar's ?'" This 
reply entirely silenced the mother ; but his father, still attempt- 
ing to defend the practice of smuggling, the boy said to him, 



MATTHEW XXIV. 27 

" Father, whether is it worse to rob one or to rob many ?" By 
these questions and answers, the boy silenced both his parents 
on the subject of smuggling. 

xxiii. 13. — Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven 
against men : for ye neither go in yourselves, nei- 
ther suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 

A child of nine years old, in St Giles', London, had gone for 
a long time to a school, in which the children of Roman Catho- 
lics are taught by Protestants to read the Bible. The little 
girl was taken very ill, and when there seemed no hope of her 
getting better, her parents sent for a Popish priest. When he 
came, he thus spoke to her : — " Child, you are in an awful 
state ; you are just going to die. I beg you, before you de- 
part, to make your dying request to your father and mother, 
that they will not send your brothers and sisters to the school 
that you went to." The little girl raised herself up in bed, and 
said, " My dear father and mother, I make it my dying request, 
that you will send my brothers and sisters to that school ; for 
there I was first taught that I was a sinner, and that 1 must de- 
pend alone upon Jesus Christ for salvation." She then laid her 
head back, and expired. 

xxiii. 24. — Ye strain at a gnat, and swallow a 

camel. 

A Neapolitan shepherd came in great anguish to his priest : 
" Father, have mercy on a miserable sinner! It is the holy 
season of Lent ; and while I was busy at work, some whey 
spurting from the cheese press, flew into my mouth, and, wretch- 
ed man ! I swallowed it. Free my distressed conscience from 
its agonies, by absolving me from my guilt!" " Have you no 
other sins to confess ?" said his spiritual guide. " No ; I do 
not know that I have committed any other." " There are," 
said the priest, " many robberies and murders from time to 
time committed on your mountains, and I have reason to believe 
you are one of the persons concerned in them." " Yes," he 
replied, " I am; but these are never accounted a crime : it is 
a thing practised by us all, and there needs no confession on 
that account." 

xxiv. 36 — Of that day and hour knoweth no man, 

no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only, 



28 MATTHEW XXV. 

At a village a few miles from London, a woman was endea- 
vouring to vend some printed trash, which she said contained 
a prophecy, that on the approaching Whit-monday, the world 
would be at an end. On hearing this, a girl about seven years 
of age, standing at the door of her father's house, ran in some- 
what alarmed, and telling her mother what the woman had been 
saying, asked her whether she believed it ? A sister of the little 
girl, between nine and ten years of age, who had been educated 
in a Sabbath school, happening to be present, could not refrain 
from speaking : " Ann," sa'd she, " you must not mind what 
the woman has been saying ; she, I am sure, cannot know when 
the world is to be at an end; for, don't you remember what 
the word of God says, s Of that day and hour knoweth no man, 
no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.'" 

xxiv. 50, 51. — The Lord of that servant shall 
come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in 
an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him 
asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypo- 
crites. 

Cosroes, King of Persia, in conversation with two philoso- 
phers and his vizier, asked, " "What situation of man is most to 
be deplored ?" One of the philosophers maintained that it was 
old age, accompanied with extreme poverty ; the other, that 
it was to have the body oppressed by infirmities, the mind worn 
out, and the heart broken by a heavy series of misfortunes. 
" I know a condition more to be pitied," said the vizier, "and 
it is that of him who has passed through life without doing 
good, and who, unexpectedly surprised by death, is sent to ap- 
pear before the tribunal of the sovereign Judge." 

xxv. 13. — Watch therefore : for ye know nei- 
ther the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man 

cometh. 

The following striking fact is taken from the Edinburgh 
Advertiser, Dec. 7, 1810. " Died at Waterford, Nov. 4, the 
Rev. B. Dickinson, minister of the Baptist congregation in 
that city, while zealously employed in the discharge of his 
functions. Mr Dickinson had taken for his text, 2 Cor. v. 10. 
1 We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ ;' 



MATTHEW XXVI. 29 

and had advanced but a short way in its illustration, when he 
fell down in the pulpit, and instantly expired !" What an im- 
pressive lesson to those who preach, and to those who hear the 
everlasting gospel ! And how becoming for every minister to 
adopt the lines of Baxter ; 

" 1 preach as if I ne'er should preach again , 
And as a dying man, to dying men." 

xxv. 36 Naked, and ye clothed me. 

On one occasion, as the Rev. Edmund Jones was returning 
home over the mountains, from places where he had been dis- 
pensing the word of life, he accidentally met a poor creature, 
almost naked, and perishing with cold. Such an object could 
not fail to work upon the tender sympathies of his heart. Hav- 
ing no money, he actually stripped himself of his shirt, and 
what other clothes he could spare, and gave them to him ; and 
after conversing with him about the state of his soul, and com- 
mending the miserable creature to God in prayer, he pursued 
his journey. As soon as he entered his house, Mrs Jones was 
alarmed at his extraordinary appearance, and hastily inquired 
if any thing disastrous had happened to him. The good man 
soon quieted her fears, by relating the particulars of what had 
occurred. " You did well, my dear," said she; " you have 
other clothes to put on ; let us be thankful to God that we are 
not in the poor man's circumstances." 

xxvi. 41. — Watch and pray, that ye enter not into 
temptation. 

A converted and emancipated slave in the vicinity of Phila- 
delphia, accosted a person thus: — " Massa, me hear you are 
going to study to be a minister." " Yes." " Will you let poor 
Tom say one thing to you?" " Yes." " Well, you know the 
good Master says, ' Watch and pray.' Now you may watch 
all the time, and if you no pray, the devil will get in. You 
may pray all the time, and if you no watch too, the devil will 
get in. But if you watch and pray all the time, the devil no 
get in; for it is just like the sword of God put into the hand 
of the angel at the entering of the garden — it turns every way. 
If the devil come before, it turn there ; if the devil come be- 
hind, it turn there. * Yes, massa, it turn every way." 

xxvi. 75 — Peter remembered the words of Jesus, 



30 Matthew xxvii. 

which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou 
shall deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept 
bitterly. 

" Bishop Jewel," says Fuller, " being, by the violence of 
popish inquisitors, assaulted on a sudden to subscribe, he took 
a pen in bis hand, and said, smiling, ' Have you a mind to see 
how well I can write ?' and thereupon underwrit their opinions."' 
Jewel, however, by his cowardly compliance, made his foes no 
fewer without 3 and one the more, a guilty conscience, within 
him. His life being way-laid for, with great difficulty he got 
over into Germany. Having arrived at Frankfort, by the ad- 
vice of some friends, he made a solemn and affecting recanta- 
tion of his subscription, in a full congregation of English Pro- 
testants, on a Sabbath morning, after having preached a most 
tender, penitential sermon. ' It was,' said he, ' my abject 
and cowardly mind, and faint heart, that made my weak hand 
commit this wickedness." He bitterly bewailed his fall; and 
with sighs and tears, supplicated forgiveness of the God whose 
truth he had denied, and of the church of Christ, which he had 
so grievously offended. The congregation were melted into 
tears, and " all embraced him as a brother in Christ; yea, as 
an angel of God."' " "Whoever seriously considers the high parts 
of Mr Jewel,'" adds Fuller, " will conclude, that his fall was 
necessary for his humiliation" 

xxvii. 29 And when they had platted a crown of 

thorns, they put it upon his head. 

When John Huss, the Bohemian martyr, was brought out 
to be burnt, they put on his head a triple crown of paper, with 
painted devils on it. On seeing it, he said, " My Lord Jesus 
Christ, for my sake, wore a crown of thorns ; why should not 
I then, for his sake, wear this light crown, be it ever so igno- 
minious ? Truly I will do it, and that willingly."' When it 
was set upon his head, the bishops said, " Now, we commit thy 
soul to the devil."' " But I," said Huss, lifting up his eyes to- 
wards heaven, " do commit my spirit into thy hands, O Lord 
Jesus Christ ; to thee I commend my spirit, which thou hast 
redeemed. " 

xxvii. 46 Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying. 

My God; my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? 



MATTHEW XXVIII. 3t 

Mr Job Throgmorton, a puritan divine, who was described 
by his contemporaries as being " as holy and as choice a preach- 
er as any in England," is said to have lived thirty-seven years 
without any comfortable assurance as to his spiritual condition. 
When dying, he addressed the venerable Mr Dod in the follow- 
ing words, " What will you say of him who is going out of the 
world, and can find no comfort ?" " What will you say of him," 
replied Mr Dod, " who, when he was going out of the world, 
found no comfort, but cried, ' My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me ? ' " This prompt reply administered consolation 
to the troubled spirit of his dying friend, who departed an hour 
after, rejoicing in the Lord. 

xxviii. 19c — Baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 

In the following account, given by the Rev. Pliny Fisk, late 
American missionary in Palestine, we see a departure from 
Scripture simplicity in the dispensing of baptism : " I went," 
says he, " one morning to the Syrian church to witness a bap- 
tism. The administrator was the bishop Abdool Messeeh. 
The resident bishop, Abdool Ahad, was present, and assisted 
in the service. When I arrived at the church, I found about 
a dozen persons present going through with the prayers and 
ceremonies preparatory to the baptism. One part of the ser- 
vice was explained to me as intended to expel the devil from 
the child. When ready for the baptism, the font was unco- 
vered, and a small quantity, first of warm, and then of cold 
water, was poured into it. The child, in a state of perfect nu- 
dity, was then taken by the bishop, who held it in one hand, 
while with the other he anointed the whole body with oil. He 
then held the child in the font, its feet and legs being in the 
water, and with his right hand he took up water, and poured 
it on the child, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Ghost. After this, he anointed it with oil, and returned 
it to the parents." 

xxviii. 20. — Lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world. 

Mr Robert Bruce, an eminent minister in Scotland, having 
to preach on a solemn occasion, was late in coming to the con- 
gregation. Some of the people beginning to be weary, and 



32 MARK I. 

others wondering at bis stay, the bells having been rung long, 
and the time far spent, the beadle was desired to go and in- 
quire the reason ; who coming to his house, and finding his 
chamber door shut, and hearing a sound, drew near, and list- 
ening, overheard Mr Bruce often, and with much seriousness, 
say, " I protest I will not go, except thou go with me." 
Whereupon the man, supposing that some person was in com- 
pany with him, withdrew without knocking at the door. On 
being asked, at his return, the cause of Mr Bruce's delay, he 
answered he could not tell; but supposed that some person 
was with him, who was unwilling to come to church, and he 
was engaged in pressing him to come peremptorily, declaring 
he would not go without him. Mr Bruce soon after came, ac- 
companied with no man, but he came in the fulness of the bless- 
ings of the gospel of Christ ; and his speech and his preaching 
were with such evidence and demonstration of the Spirit, that 
it was easy for the hearers to perceive he had been in the 
mount with God, and that he enjoyed the presence of his 
divine Master. 



MARK. 

Chap. i. 6 — John — did eat locusts and wild honey. 

A good old French bishop, in paying his annual visit to his 
clergy, was very much afflicted by the representations they 
made of their extreme poverty, which, indeed, the appearance 
of their houses and families corroborated. While he was de- 
ploring the state of things which had reduced them to this sad 
condition, he arrived at the house of a curate, who, living 
amongst a poor set of parishioners, would, he feared, be in a 
still more awful plight than the others. Contrary, however, 
to his expectations, he found appearances very much improved. 
Every thing about the house wore the aspect of comfort and 
plenty. The good bishop was amazed. " How is this, my 
friend?" said he ; " you are the first man that I have met with 
a cheerful face, and a plentiful board. Have you any income 
independent of your cure?" " Yes, Sir," said the clergyman, 
" I have; my family would starve on the pittance I receive 
from the poor people I instruct. Come with me into the gar- 
den, and I will show you the stock that yields me an excellent 



MARK II. 



33 



interest." On going to the garden, he showed the bishop a 
large range of bee-hives. " There is the bank from which I 
draw an annual dividend. It never stops payment." 

i. 25. — And in the morning, rising up a great 
while before day, he went out, and departed into a 
solitary place, and there prayed. 

Colonel Gardiner used constantly to rise at four in the morn- 
ing, and to spend his time till six in the secret exercises of the 
closet, reading, meditation, and prayer ; in which last he ac- 
quired such a fervency of spirit, as, " I believe," says his bio- 
grapher, " few men living ever attained. This certainly very 
much contributed to strengthen that firm faith in God. and re- 
verent animating sense of his presence, for which he was so 
eminently remarkable, and which carried him through the trials 
and services of life with such steadiness, and with such acti- 
vity ; for he indeed endured and acted as if always seeing Him 
who is invisible. If at any time he was obliged to go out be- 
fore six in the morning, he rose proportionally sooner ; so that 
when a journey or a march has required him to be on horse- 
back by four, he would be at his devotions by two." 

ii. 25, 26. — Have ye never read what David did, 
when he had need, and was an hungered, he and 
they that were with him ? How he went into the 
house of God in the days of Abiathar the high 
priest, and did eat the shew-bread, which is not law- 
ful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them 
that were with him. 

When the Romans had ravaged the province of Azazane, and 
7000 Persians were brought to Armida, where they suffered 
extreme want, Acases, the bishop of that city, observed, that 
as God said, " I love mercy better than sacrifice," he would 
certainly be better pleased with the relief of his suffering crea- 
tures, than with being served with gold and silver in their 
churches. The clergy were of the same opinion. The con- 
secrated vessels were sold ; and, with the proceeds, the 7000 
Persians were not only maintained during the war, but sent 
home at its conclusion with money in their pockets. Varenes, 



34 MARK IV. 

the Persian monarch, was so charmed with this humane action, 
that he invited the bishop to his capital, where he received him 
with the utmost reverence, and for his sake conferred many 
favours on the Christians. 

iii. 14. — And he ordained twelve, that they should 
be with him, and that he might send them forth to 
preach. 

The Rev. John Howe being introduced to one of the bishops, 
formerly an acquaintance, his lordship expostulated with him 
respecting his non-conformity. Mr Howe told him he could 
not have time, without greatly trespassing upon his patience, 
to go through the several objections he had to make to the 
terms of conformity. The bishop pressed him to name any one 
that he reckoned to be of weight. He instanced the point of 
re-ordination. " Pray, Sir," said the bishop to him, " what 
hurt is there in being twice ordained?" " Hurt! my lord," 
said Mr Howe, " the thought is shocking; it hurts my under- 
standing ; it is an absurdity : for nothing can have two begin- 
nings. I am sure I am a minister of Christ, and am ready to 
debate that matter with your lordship, if you please ; and I 
cannot begin again to be a minister." The bishop then drop- 
ped the matter, and told Mr H. that if he would come in 
amongst them he might have considerable preferment, and at 
length dismissed him in a very friendly manner. 

iv. 9. — He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

An innkeeper, addicted to intemperance, on hearing of the 
particularly pleasing mode of singing at a church some miles 
distant, went to gratify his curiosity, but with a resolution not 
to hear a word of the sermon. Having with difficulty found 
admission into a narrow open pew, as soon as the hymn before 
sermon was sung, which he heard with great attention, he se- 
cured both his ears against the sermon with his fore-fingers. 
He had not been in this position many minutes, before the 
prayer finished, and the sermon commenced with an awful ap- 
peal to the consciences of the hearers, of the necessity of at- 
tending to the things which belonged to their everlasting 
peace; and the minister addressing them solemnly, said, " He 
that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Just the moment before 
these words were pronounced, a fly had fastened on the face of 
the innkeeper, and, stinging him sharply, he drew one of his 



MARK V. 35 

fingers from his ears, and struck off the painful visitant. At 
that very moment, the words, " He that hath ears to hear, let 
him hear," pronounced with great solemnity, entered the ear 
that was opened, as a clap of thunder. It struck him with ir- 
resistible force : he kept his hand from returning to his ear, 
and, feeling an impression he had never known before, he pre- 
sently withdrew the other finger, and hearkened with deep at- 
tention to the discourse which followed. A salutary change 
was produced on him. He abandoned his former wicked prac- 
tices, became truly serious, and for many years, went, during 
all weathers, six miles to the church, where he first received 
the knowledge of divine things. After about eighteen years 
faithful and close walk with God, he died rejoicing in the hope 
of that glory which he now enjoys. 

iv. 39 — And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and 
said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind 
ceased, and there was a great calm. 

Mr Hervey, in a sermon which he preached to the sailors at 
Biddeford, says, — " What we have mentioned of our Lord's 
saying Peace to the raging waves, may instruct you whom I 
address in the hour of danger ; may also teach the wisdom of 
securing an interest in the Lord Jesus, whose divine word 
even the winds and sea obey. The hour is coming, dear sail- 
ors, when you shall hail with shouts your native land no more. 
Oh ! then, come unto Christ ; get an interest in his merits ; 
give yourselves up to his guidance ; let his word be your com- 
pass ; let his grace hold the helm, and steer your course. Let 
his blessing fill your sails ; let his blood, his righteousness, his 
Spirit, be the prize of your calling ; let this be the precious 
merchandize you court, this the pearl of price you seek." 

v. 15. — They come to Jesus, and see him that was 

possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, 

and clothed, and in his right mind. 

A young man, an apprentice in an extensive tin manufac- 
tory in the state of Massachusetts, who had been very profli- 
gate, but was converted by reading a religious tract, having 
applied for admission into a church, the minister called on his 
master to inquire whether any change had been wrought in his 
conduct, and whether he had any objection to his reception. 



36 MARK V. 

When the minister had made the customary inquiries, his mas- 
ter, with evident emotion, though he was not a professor of reli- 
gion, replied in substance as follows : Pointing to an iron chain 
hanging up in the room, " Do you see that chain ?" said he. 
" That chain was forged for W. I was obliged to chain him to 
the bench by the week together, to keep him at work. He was 
the worst boy I had in the whole establishment. No punish- 
ment seemed to have any salutary influence upon him. I could 
not trust him out of my sight ; but now, sir, he is completely 
changed ; he has really become a lamb. He is one of my best 
apprentices. I would trust him with untold gold. I have no 
objection to his being received into communion. I wish all 
my boys were prepared to go with him." 

v. 19. — Jesus saith unto him, Go home to thy 
friends, and tell them how great things the Lord 
hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 

A sailor of the name of Campbell, on board a Guineaman, 
on the Congo, a river in Africa, while in a state of intoxica- 
tion, bathed in that river. When he had swam some distance 
from the vessel, some persons on board discovered an alligator 
making towards him. His escape was now considered impos- 
sible; two shots were fired at the formidable creature, but 
without effect. The report of the piece, and the noise on 
board, made Campbell acquainted with his danger ; he saw 
the creature advancing towards him, and with all the strength 
and skill he possessed, made for the shore. On approaching 
within a very short distance of some canes and shrubs that co- 
vered the bank, while closely pursued by the alligator, a fero- 
cious tiger sprang towards him, at the instant the jaws of his 
first enemy were expanded to devour him. At this awful mo- 
ment Campbell was preserved. The eager tiger, by overleap- 
ing him, encountered the gripe of the amphibious monster. A 
conflict ensued between them, the water was coloured with the 
blood of the tiger, whose efforts to tear the scaly covering of 
the alligator were unavailing, while the latter had also the ad- 
vantage of keeping his adversary under water, by which the 
victory was presently obtained, for the tigers death was now 
effected. They both sank to the bottom, and the alligator was 
no more seen. Campbell was recovered, and instantly con- 
veyed on board. His danger had sobered him, and the mo- 
ment he leaped on deck, he fell on his knees, and returned 



MARK VI. 37 

thanks to Providence, who had so wonderfully preserved him ; 
and what is more singular, " from that time to the time I am 
writing," says the narrator, " he has never been seen the least 
intoxicated, nor has he been heard to utter a single oath. If 
there ever was a reformed being in the universe, Campbell is 
the man." 

vi. 22. — The daughter of Herodias came in, and 
danced, and pleased Herod, and them that sat with 
him. 

A young lady, having requested her pious father to permit 
her to learn to dance, he replied, " No, my child, I cannot 
consent to comply with a request which may subject me to your 
censures at some future period." " No, father, I will never 
censure you for complying with my request." " Nor can I 
consent," replied the father, " to give you an opportunity. If 
you learn, I have no doubt but you will excel ; and when you 
leave school, you may then want to go into company to exhi- 
bit your skill. If I then object to let you, as 1 most likely 
should, you would very naturally reply, ' Why, father, did you 
first permit me to learn, if I am not permitted to practise ?' " 
This reply convinced her that her father acted wisely, though 
he opposed her inclination. She has now become a parent, 
has often mentioned this occurrence as having had a powerful 
moral influence over her mind, in the days of her juvenile va- 
nity, and has incorporated this maxim into her system of do- 
mestic economy, — Never to comply with a request which may 
subject her to any future reflections from her children. 

vi. 41 Jesus looked up to heaven, and blessed, 

and brake the loaves. 

" I came from my last voyage before Christmas," says a 
sailor, " and hastened home. Being late when I arrived, I 
had not the opportunity of seeing my eldest girl until the fol- 
lowing day. At dinner time, when we had sat down, I began 
to eat what was before me, without ever thinking of my hea- 
venly Father, that provided my daily bread; but, glancing' my 
eye towards this girl, of whom I was doatingly fond, I observed 
her looking at me with astonishment. After a moment's pause, 
she asked me, in a solemn and serious manner, * Father, do 
you never ask a blessing before eating?' Her mother observed 

/ D 



38 MARK VII. 

me looking hard at her, and holding my knife and fork mo- 
tionless; it was not anger, — it was a rush of conviction, which 
struck me like lightning. Apprehending some reproof from 
me, and wishing to pass it by in a trifling way, she said, * Do 
you say grace, Nanny ?' My eyes were still riveted upon the 
child, for I felt conscious I had never instructed her to pray, 
nor even set an example, by praying with my family when at 
home. The child, seeing me waiting for her to begin, put her 
hands together, and lifting up her hands to heaven, breathed 
the sweetest prayer I ever heard. This was too much for me ; 
the knife and fork dropped from my hands, and I gave vent to 
my feelings in tears." It appears that, through the instru- 
mentality of this child, not more than six years of age, who had 
attended a Sabbath School, together with his subsequent at- 
tendance on the public worship of God, the father has been led 
to saving views of divine truth. 

vii. 10. — Honour thy father and thy mother; and, 
Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the 
death. 

The Roman Catholic clergy manifest the greatest hostility 
to the schools established in Ireland, in which the Scriptures 
are read. A gentleman, on expostulating with a young priest 
on the subject, was told in reply, that he was only obeying the 
orders of his bishop, whom he was bound to obey by the most 
solemn and sacred oaths taken at his ordination, and of which 
his bishop frequently reminded him, nor did he execute his di- 
rection with that severity he ovght : for he was positively di- 
rected by his bishop to bring all the children who were sent by 
their parents to the school in the place before him ; and while 
he denounced all the curses of the church against their parents 
by name, the children were ordered to curse their own parents, 
by pronouncing audibly at the end of each verse, Amen ! ! 

vii. 21 — Out of the heart of men, proceed evil 

thoughts. 

The late Dr Lawson, of Selkirk, in travelling with a young 
friend, the conversation turned on the corruption of the hu- 
man heart. The youth, who had the highest sense of his wis- 
dom and sanctity, said to him, " I do not think you would need 
to fear much, though your thoughts were laid open." Dr L. 



MARK VIII. 39 

replied, " I could not bear that the course of my thoughts, 
even for one hour, should be exposed. Most needful is the 
prayer, * Cleanse thou me from secret faults, keep back thy 
servant also from presumptuous sins.' " 

viii. 6. — Jesus took the seven loaves, and gave 

thanks. 

At Lebanon, in the state of New York, there dwelt a cer- 
tain man, about fifty years of age, who had not only lived a 
very careless life, but was an open opposer of the gospel-plan 
of salvation, and of the work of God in the late revival of reli- 
gion in that part of the country ; he was, however, brought 
under serious convictions in the following manner: — One day 
there came into his house a traveller with a burden on his 
back ; the family being about to sit down to dinner, the stran- 
ger was invited to partake with them, which he accordingly 
did. When the repast was finished, and the members of the 
family were withdrawing from their seats, the stranger said, 
" Don't let us forget to give thanks to God." He accordingly 
gave thanks, and departed. The man of the house felt re- 
proved and confounded. The words of the stranger were fas- 
tened on his mind by the power of God. He was led to re- 
flect on his wickedness in being unmindful of God, and in 
neglecting prayer and thanksgiving ; he was also led to re- 
flect on his manifold sins, which soon appeared to him a bur- 
den infinitely greater than that which the traveller bore. He 
found no relief until he sought it in that very way which he 
used formerly to despise, through the peace-speaking blood of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. 

viii. 38 — Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed 
of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sin- 
ful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be 
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, 
with the holy angels. 

David Straiton, one of the Scottish martyrs, was brought 
to the knowledge of the truth, through the instrumentality of 
John Erskine of Dun. One day, having retired with the 
young laird of Laurieston, to a quiet and solitary place in the 
fields, to have the New Testament read to him, it so hap- 
pened, that in the course of reading, these words of our Sa- 



40 MARK IX. 

viour occurred, " He thatdenieth me before men, in the midst 
of this wicked generation, him will I deny in the presence of 
my Father and his angels.'" On hearing them, he became of a 
sudden, as one enraptured or inspired. He threw himself on 
his knees, extended his hands, and, after looking for some time 
earnestly towards heaven, he burst forth in these words, " O 
Lord, I have been wicked, and justly mayest thou withdraw 
thy grace from me ; but, Lord, for thy mercies' sake, let me 
never deny thee nor thy truth, for fear of death and corporal 
pains." The issue proved that his prayer was not in vain. 
For, at his trial and death, he displayed much firmness and 
constancy in the defence of the truth, and gave great encou- 
ragement to another gentleman, Norman Gourlay, who suffered 
along with him. 

ix. 29.— This kind can come forth by nothing, but 
by prayer and fasting. 

Richard Cook, a pious man, during Mr Baxter's residence 
at Kidderminster, went to live in the next house to him. After 
some time he was seized with melancholy, which ended in 
madness. The most skilful help was obtained, but all in vain. 
While he was in this state, some pious persons wished to meet 
to fast and pray in behalf of the sufferer ; but Mr Baxter, in 
this instance, dissuaded them from it, as he apprehended the 
case to be hopeless, and thought they would expose prayer to 
contempt in the eyes of worldly persons, when they saw it un- 
successful. When ten or a dozen years of affliction had passed 
over Richard Cook, some of the pious men referred to would 
no longer be dissuaded, but fasted and prayed at his house. 
They continued this practice once a fortnight for several 
months ; at length the sufferer began to amend, his health and 
reason returned, and, adds Mr Baxter, " he is now as well almost 
as ever he was, and so hath continued for a considerable time." 

ix. 35. — If any man desire to be first, the same 

shall be last of all, and servant of all. 

One day, Mr John Elliot, a little before his death, after a 
very distinct and useful exposition of the eighty-third Psalm, 
concluded with an apology to his hearers, begging them " to 
pardon the poorness, and meanness, and brokenness of his me- 
ditations; but," added he, with singular humility, " my dear 
brother here will by and by mend all." 



MARK XI. 41 

x. 14. — Suffer the little children to come unto me, 

and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of 

God. 

A little girl between six and seven years of age, when on 
her death-bed, seeing her elder sister with a Bible in her hand, 
requested her to read it. The preceding passage having been 
read, and the book closed, the child said, " How kind! 1 shall 
soon go to Jesus ; he will soon take me up in his arms, bless 
me too; no disciple shall keep me away." Her sister kissed 
her, and said, " Do you love me?" " Yes, my dear," she re- 
plied, " but do not be angry, I love Jesus better." 

x. 23. — How hardly shall they that have riches 
enter the kingdom of God ! 

When Garrick showed Dr Johnson his fine house, gardens, 
statues, pictures, &c. at Hampton Court, what ideas did they 
awaken in the mind of that great man ? Instead of a flattering 
compliment, which was expected, " Ah ! David, David," said 
the doctor, " these are the things which make a death-bed ter- 
rible !" 

xi. 14. — Jesus answered and said unto it, No man 
eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. 

The Spirit of God, by means of the Scriptures, convinces 
of sin, as well as comforts believers by its promises. Cowper, 
speaking of his distressing convictions, says, " One moment I 
thought myself shut out from mercy by one chapter, and the 
next by another. The sword of the Spirit seemed to guard 
the tree of life from my touch, and to flame against me in 
every avenue by which I attempted to approach it. I particu- 
larly remember, that the parable of the barren fig-tree was to 
me an inconceivable source of anguish; and I applied it to 
myself, with a strong persuasion in my mind, that when our 
Saviour pronounced a curse upon it, he had me in his eye, and 
pointed that curse directly at me." 

xi. 25. — When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye 
have ought against any ; that your Father also which ' 
is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 



42 MARK XII. 

A wealthy planter in Virginia, who had a great number of 
slaves, found one of them reading the Bible, and reproved him 
for neglect of his work, saying, there was time enough on Sun- 
days for reading the Bible, and that on other days he ought to 
be in the tobacco-house. The slave repeated the offence ; he 
ordered him to be whipped. Going near the place of punish- 
ment soon after its infliction, curiosity led him to listen to a 
voice engaged in prayer ; and he heard the poor black implore 
the Almighty to forgive the injustice of his master, to touch 
his heart with a sense of his sin, and to make him a good 
Christian. Struck with remorse, he made an immediate change 
in his life, which had been careless and dissipated, burnt his 
profane books and cards, liberated all his slaves, and appears 
now to study how to render his wealth and talents useful to 
others. 

xii. 12. — They sought to lay hold on him, but 
feared the people ; for they knew that he had spoken 
the parable against them. 

During the Protectorate, a certain knight in the county of 
Surrey, had a law-suit with the minister of his parish; and 
whilst the dispute was pending, Sir John imagined that the 
sermons which were delivered at church were preached at him. 
He therefore complained against the minister to Oliver Crom- 
well, who inquired of the preacher concerning it; and having 
found that he merely reproved common sins, he dismissed the 
complaining knight, saying, " Go home, Sir John, and here- 
after live in good friendship with your minister ; the word of 
the Lord is a searching word, and it seems as if it had found 
you out/' 

xii. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, 

and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 

The Are at Ratclifte, in July 1794, was more destructive, 
and consumed more houses, than any conflagration since the 
memorable fire of London in 1666. Out of twelve hundred 
houses, not more than five hundred and seventy were preserved. 
The distress of the miserable inhabitants was beyond descrip- 
tion, not less than one thousand four hundred persons being 
thrown on the benevolence of the public ; nor was it slow in 
their support. Government immediately sent one hundred 



MARK XIII. 43 

and fifty tents for the wretched sufferers. The city subscribed 
£1000 for their relief, and Lloyd's £700. The East India 
Company also gave £210. The collection from the visitants 
who crowded to see the encampment, amounted to upwards of 
£800, of which £426 was in copper, including £38, 14s. in 
farthings ! each a poor man's mite. 

xiii. 8. — There shall be famines. 

During the siege of Jerusalem, the extremity of the famine 
was such, that a Jewess of noble family, urged by the intole- 
rant cravings of hunger, slew her infant child, and prepared it 
for a meal. She had actually eaten one-half of it, when the 
soldiers, allured by the smell of food, threatened her with in- 
stant death, if she refused to discover it. Intimidated by this 
menace, she immediately produced the remains of her son, 
which struck them with horror. At the recital of this melan- 
choly and affecting occurrence, the whole city stood aghast, 
congratulating those whom death had hurried away from such 
heart-rending scenes. Indeed, humanity at once shudders and 
sickens at the narration ; nor can any one of the least sensibi- 
lity reflect upon the pitiable condition to which the female part 
of the inhabitants must at this time have been reduced, with- 
out experiencing the tenderest emotion of sympathy, or refrain- 
ing from tears, when he reads our Saviour's pathetic address to 
the women who bewailed him as he was led to Calvary, 
wherein he evidently refers to these very calamities. 

xiii. 12 The brother shall betray the brother to 

death. 

John Diazius, a native of Spain, having embraced the Pro- 
testant faith, came afterwards to Germany, where he visited 
Malvinda, the Pope's agent there. Having attempted in vain 
to bring him back to the church of Rome, Malvinda sent to 
Rome for his brother Alphonsus Diazius, who, hearing that his 
brother was become a Protestant, came into Germany with an 
assassin, resolving either to draw him back to Popery, or to 
destroy him. Alphonsus finding his brother so stedfast in his 
belief of the truths of the gospel, that neither the promises nor 
threats of the Pope's agent, nor his own pretensions of bro- 
therly love, could prevail on him to return to Popery, feigned 
to take a most friendly and affectionate farewell, and then de- 
parted. Having soon returned, he sent in the ruffian who ac- 



44 MARK XV. 

corapanied him, with letters to his brother, himself following 
behind, and while his brother was reading them, the assassin 
cleft his head with a hatchet which they purchased on the way 
from a carpenter; and, taking horse, they both rode off. Al- 
phonsus, though highly applauded by the Papists, became the 
prey of a guilty conscience. His horror and dread of mind 
were so insupportable, that, being at Trent during the general 
counsel, like another Judas, he put an end to his life by hang- 
ing himself. 

xiv. 4 Some had indignation within themselves, 

and said, Why was this waste of the ointment 

made ? 

A christian gentleman, when blamed by his commercial 
partner for doing so much for the cause of God, made this re- 
ply, — " Your fox-hounds cost more in one year, than my reli- 
gion ever cost in two." 

xiv. 8. — She hath done what she could. 

At a meeting held, with the view of forming an auxiliary 
society in aid of the Wesleyan mission, the following anecdote 
was related by one of the speakers : — A woman of Wakefield, 
well known to be in very needy circumstances, offered to sub- 
scribe a penny a-week to the Missionary fund. " Surely you," 
said one, " are too poor to afford this?" She replied, " I 
spin so many hanks of yarn for a maintenance ; I will spin 
one more, and that will be a penny for the society." " I 
would rather," said the speaker, " see that hank suspended in 
the poor woman's cottage, — a token of her zeal for the tri- 
umph of the gospel, — than military trophies in the halls of he- 
roes, the proud memorials of victories obtained over the phy- 
sical strength of men V 

xv. 20. — And when they had mocked him, they 
took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes 
on him, and led him out to crucify him. 

After Archbishop Cranmer had been condemned, in the be- 
ginning of Queen Mary's reign, to suffer death, they proceed- 
ed afterwards to degrade him. To make this appear as ridi- 
culous as possible, they put on him an episcopal habit made of 



MARK XVI. 45 

canvas and old rags; Bonner, in the meantime, by way of in- 
sult and mockery, called him Mr Canterbury, and such like. 
He bore all with his wonted fortitude and patience; telling 
them, the degradation gave him no concern, for he had long 
despised these ornaments. When they had stript him of all 
his habits, they put upon his jacket an old gown, threadbare 
and ill-shaped, and a townsman's cap, and so delivered him to 
the secular power, to be carried back to prison, where he was 
kept entirely destitute of money, and totally secluded from his 
friends. Such was the iniquity of the times, that a gentle- 
man who gave him a little money to buy some provisions, nar- 
rowly escaped being brought to trial for it. 

xvi. 15. — Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
gospel to every creature. 

" I hope," says Mr Knili of Petersburg!], in a letter, " the 
subject of devoting ourselves and our children to God and to 
his service, will be more thought of, and more acted upon, than 
it has been hitherto. I am more and more convinced, that if 
St Paul had ever preached from, ' Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the gospel to every creature,' he would have laid 
great stress on the word * go.' On your peril, do not substi- 
tute another word for ' go.' Preach is a good word. Direct 
is a good word. Collect is a good word. Give is a good 
word. They are all important in their places, and cannot be 
dispensed with. The Lord bless and prosper those who are 
so engaged, but still lay the stress on the word ' go ;' for ' how 
can they hear without a preacher, and how can they preach ex- 
cept they be sent?' Six hundred millions of the human race 
are perishing, and there are perhaps thirty among all the Chris- 
tians in Britain, who are at this moment preparing to ' go.' 
Alas ! my hand shakes, and my heart trembles. * Is this thy 
kindness to thy friend !' " 

xvi. 20 — They went forth, and preached every 
where, the Lord working with them, and confirming 
the words with signs following. 

Arnobius, a heathen philosopher, who became a Christian, 
speaking of the power which the christian faith had over the 
minds of men, says, " Who would not believe it, when he sees 
in how short a time it has conquered so great knowledge ? 



46 lukp; i. 

Orators, grammarians, rhetoricians, lawyers, physicians, and 
philosophers, have thrown up those opinions which but a 
little before they held, and have embraced the doctrines of the 
gospel !" 

" Though but of yesterday," said Tertullian, " yet have we 
filled your cities, islands, castles, corporations, councils, your 
armies themselves, your tribes, companies, the palace, the se- 
nate, and courts of justice ; only your temples have we left 
vou free." 



LUKE. 

Chap. i. 3. — It seemeth good to me also, having 
had perfect understanding of all things from the very 
first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent 
Theophilus. 

Mr Hill, missionary at Berhampore, on one occasion distri- 
buted a number of tracts. He further states, " I had reserved 
a gospel of Luke to use on the way, if occasion should require ; 
but a man followed me, and constrained me to give it to him, 
by pleading my promise on the past night. When he had re- 
ceived it, he took hold of my horse reins, and said, ' Sir, I will 
not let you depart, until I have some clue to the meaning of 
the book, otherwise it will be useless to me when you are gone. 
— Here, Sir, what is this Mungal Somachar?' ' Good news.' 
— ' What is this Luke ?' ' Luke is the man's name who wrote 
this book.' — ' Kurtrick — what is that ?' ' Written ; and the 
whole sentence means, the Gospel written by Luke.' — ■ Who 
was Luke?' * He was a man acquainted with all which the 
Lord Jesus Christ did and said on earth, with the reason of 
Christ's coming into the world, and with the manner of his 
death; and these are the things contained in this book.' — 
* That will do, Sir ; now, I shall understand what I read.' I 
left him, and prayed that the Lord would give him under- 
standing." 

i. 79. — To guide our feet into the way of peace. 

A pious father, the evening before his departure, desired all 



LUKE II. 47 

his children to come into his chamber ; and placing them around 
his dying bed, thus addressed them : — " You all know that I 
am soon going to be transplanted out of this world into a bet- 
ter. I hope I shall there be permitted to watch over you, and 
I trust that you are walking the same road, and will soon fol- 
low me. You all know the road ; great pains have been taken 
to show it to you. Where is it to be found?" The children 
all instantly replied, " In the Bible." The dying parent 
proceeded: "Keep hold of that chain; it will never mislead 
you. When you are in doubt whether this or that be right, 
ask your Bible; see if your Saviour would have done so." 

ii. 10. — And the angel said unto them, Fear not : 

for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 

which shall be to all people. 

In the year 1753, Mr Lindley Murray was placed in a good 
school in the city of New York. A very strong, and, he 
thought, beneficial impression was made upon his mind about 
this period (m his eighth or ninth yearj, by a piece which was 
given him to write. The sheet was decorated with a frame- 
work of "pleasing figures," in the centre of which he was to 
transcribe the visit and salutation of the angels to the shep- 
herds of Bethlehem. To use his own words, " The beauty of 
the sheet, the property I was to have in it, and the distinction 
which I expected from performing the work in a handsome 
manner, prepared my mind for relishing the solemn narrative, 
and the interesting language of the angels to the shepherds. 
The impression was so strong and delightful, that it has often 
occurred to me through life with great satisfaction ; and, at 
this hour, it is remembered with pleasure. If parents and others 
who have the care of young persons, would be studious to 
seize occasions of presenting the Holy Scriptures to them, un- 
der favourable and inviting points of view, a veneration for 
these sacred volumes, and a pleasure in perusing them, may be 
excited by agreeable and interesting associations ; and these 
impressions, thus early made, there is reason to believe, would 
accompany the mind through the whole of life." 

ii. 29 ? 30— Lord, now lettest thou thy servant de- 
part in peace, according to thy word ; for mine eyes 
have seen thy salvation. 

Mr Hervey, when dying, expressed his gratitude to his phy- 



48 LUKE III. 

sician for his visits, though it had been long out of the power 
of medicine to cure him. He then paused a little, and with 
great serenity and sweetness in his countenance, though the 
pangs of death were upon him, being raised a little in his chair, 
repeated these words : " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant de- 
part in peace, according to thy most holy and comfortable word; 
for mine eyes have seen thy precious salvation. Here, doctor, 
is my cordial ; what are all the cordials given to support the 
dying, in comparison of that which arises from the promises of 
salvation by Christ ? This, this now supports me." About 
three o'clock, he said, " The great conflict is over — now all is 
done." After which he scarcely spoke any other word intelli- 
gibly, except twice or thrice, precious salvation ! and then 
leaning his head against the side of the chair on which he sat, 
he shut his eyes, and on Christmas-day, the 25th of December, 
1758, between four and five in the afternoon, fell asleep in 
Jesus. 

iii. 7, 8 — Then he said to the multitude that came 
forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, 
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to 
come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of re- 
pentance. 

The late Dr A. Thomson, when minister at Sprouston, 
having seen a member of his congregation coming out of a 
public house in a state of intoxication, resolved to seize the 
first opportunity to rebuke him for his sin, and warn him of his 
danger. Nor was it long before such an opportunity occurred. 
In a few days after, the man came to him, requesting baptism 
for his child. This Mr T. decidedly refused, until he acknow- 
ledged his sin, and promised amendment ; informing him, at 
the same time, that he himself had been an eye-witness of his 
inebriety. The man immediately commenced an apology, in 
which he happened to stumble on another occasion than that to 
which the minister alluded ; which furnished Mr T. with ad- 
ditional matter of solemn and pointed rebukes. This was too 
much for the stubborn delinquent, who immediately left the house 
in a rage. Shortly after, however, his wife called on Mr T., and 
earnestly entreated him to receive her husband again into the 
communion of the church. " Most certainly," replied Mr 
Thomson, "provided he candidly acknowledges his offence 
against God, and gives me the solemn promise that he will 



LUKE V. 49 

abandon the sin of intemperance." To this the now humbled 
penitent agreed, and in due time received baptism for his 
child. 

iv. 18, 19 — The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel 
to the poor. 

The biographer of Mr Elliot, the missionary, says of him, — 
" He liked no preaching but what had been well studied; and 
he would very much commend a sermon which he could per- 
ceive had required some good thinking and reading in the au- 
thor of it. I have heard him thus express himself; * Brother, 
there was oil required for the service of the sanctuary ; but it 
was to be beaten oil ; I praise God that I saw your oil so well 
beaten to-day : the Lord help us always, by good study, to beat 
our oil, that there may be no knots in our sermons left undis- 
solved, and that there may be a clear light thereby given to 
the house of God!' He likewise looked for something in a 
sermon beside and beyond the mere study of man ; he was for 
having the Spirit of God breathing in it, and with it ; and he 
was for speaking those things from those impressions, and with 
those affections, which might compel the hearer to say, The 
Spirit of God was here ! I have heard him complaim, * It is 
a sad thing, when a sermon shall have this one thing, the Spirit 
of God, wanting in it.' " 

v. 10. — Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from 
henceforth thon shalt catch men. 

The late Rev. Henry Venn, in a letter, descriptive of a tour 
through different parts of England, says — " From Bath, through 
Bristol and Gloucester, we arrived at Trevecca, in Wales. 
Howel Harris is the father of that settlement, and the founder. 
After labouring for fifteen years, more violently than any other 
of the servants of Christ, in this revival, he was so hurt in body 
as to be confined to his own house for seven years. Upon the 
beginning of this confinement, first one and then another whom 
the Lord had converted under his word, to the number of near- 
ly a hundred, came and desired to live with him, saying that 
they would work and get their bread. By this means, nearly 
one hundred and twenty men and children, from very distant 
parts of Wales, came and fixed their tents at Trevecca. We 
were there three days, and heard their experience, which they 



50 LUKE VI. 

spoke in "Welsh to Mr Harris, and he interpreted to us. Of 
all the people I ever saw, this society seems to be the most ad- 
vanced in grace. They speak as men and women who feel 
themselves every moment worthy of eternal punishment, and 
infinitely base, and yet, at the same time, have such certainty 
of salvation through the second Man, the Lord from heaven, 
as is indeed delightful to behold. My heart received a bless- 
ing from them and their pastor, which will abide with me. ' 

v. 28. — We have seen strange things to-day. 

Dr Philip, in a late speech at the anniversary of the London 
Missionary Society, alludes to a remark made by Mr Newton. 
— " When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders there ; — 
the first wonder will be to see many people there whom I did 
not expect to see — the second wonder will be to miss many 
people whom I did expect to see — and the third, and greatest 
wonder of all, will be to find myself there." " I have also," 
said Dr P., " seen three wonders ; I have seen men of great 
wealth, and of great talent, who have had many opportunities 
of forwarding the cause of God, do nothing ; I have seen many 
humble and despised individuals, but whose hearts were right 
with God, do wonders: but the greatest wonder of all is to 
find that so humble an individual as I am, should have been at 
all useful in the work. I take nothing unto myself but shame 
and humility before God."' 

vi. 12. — Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, 
and when they shall separate yon from their com- 
pany, and shall reproach you, and cast out your 
name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. 

Six students were expelled the L'niversity of Oxford in 1768, 
for praying, reading, and expounding the Scriptures in a pri- 
vate house. Mr defended their doctrines from the thirty- 
nine articles of the established church, and spoke in the highest 
terms of the piety and exemplariness of their lives ; but his 
motion was overruled, and sentence pronounced against them. 

Dr , one of the heads of the houses present, observed, 

that as these six gentlemen were expelled for having too much 
religion, it would be very proper to inquire into the conduct of 
some who had too little. — What a state must religion have been 
in at Oxford, that out of so many hundred students, only six 
should be found guilty of such a pretended crime ! 



LUKE VII. 51 

vi. 28. — Pray for them which despitefully use 

you. 

Dr Lamb, a violent persecutor of the Puritans, being on a 
journey in the country, and having the misfortune to break his 
leg, was brought to the same inn where Mr Herring, a pious 
minister, whom he had in a special manner persecuted, was 
stopping all night. The good man was called on to conduct 
the devotion of the family, and prayed so fervently and affec- 
tionately for the doctor, as greatly surprised those who were 
present. Being asked why he manifested so much respect to- 
wards a man so unworthy of it, he replied, " The greater 
enemy he is, the more need he hath of our prayers. We must 
prove ourselves to be the disciples of Christ, by loving our 
enemies, and praying for our persecutors." 

vii. 2, 3 — And a certain centurion's servant, who 

was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And 

when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders 

of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and 

heal his servant. 

" I remember," says Dr Doddridge, in his Life of Colonel 
Gardiner, " I had once occasion to visit one of his dragoons in 
his last illness at Harborough, and I found the man upon the 
borders of eternity ; a circumstance which, as he apprehended 
himself, must add some peculiar weight and credibility to his 
discourse. And he then told me, in his Colonel's absence, that 
he questioned not but he should have everlasting reason to bless 
God on Colonel Gardiner's account ; for he had been a father 
to him in all his interests, both temporal and spiritual. He 
added, that he had visited him almost every day during his ill- 
ness, with religious advice and instruction, as well as taken care 
that he should want nothing that might conduce to the reco- 
very of his health. And he did not speak of this as the result 
of any particular attachment to him, but as the manner in 
which he was accustomed to treat those under his command." 

vii. 12 — Now, when he came nigh to the gate of 
the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, 
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. 

It is recorded of the late Countess of Huntingdon, who after- 



52 LUKE VIII. 

wards so warmly espoused the cause of God and his truth, that 
in her early youth, when about nine years old, the sight of a 
corpse about her own age, carried to the grave, induced her to 
attend the funeral, and then the first impressions of deep seri- 
ousness respecting an eternal world laid hold of her conscience. 
With many tears, she cried earnestly on the spot to God, that 
whenever he was pleased to call her hence, he would deliver 
her from all her fears, and give her a happy departure : she 
often afterwards visited the grave of this young person, and 
always preserved a lively sense of the affecting scene. 

viii. 2. — And certain women, which had been 
healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called 
Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils. 

Mr Romaine had been chosen to the rectory of Blackfriars, 
in 1764 ; but, by the opposition of some who were unfriendly 
to the gospel, was kept out of the pulpit till early in the year 
1766, when the Lord Chancellor, to the inexpressible joy of 
thousands, terminated the dispute in his favour. His election 
is said to have been principally owing to the influence of a pub- 
lican. Mr Romaine being informed of this circumstance, we 
are told, waited upon him to thank him for the zeal he had 
shown on that occasion. " Indeed, Sir," he replied, "lam 
more indebted to you than you to me, for you have made my 
wife, who was one of the worst, the best woman in the world.''' 

viii. 24, 25 — And they came to him, and awoke 
him, saying, Master, Master, we perish ! Then he 
arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the 
water ; and they ceased, and there was a calm. And 
he said unto them, Where is your faith ? 

Some years ago, an officer in the army, who was a pious 
man, was drafted abroad with his regiment. He accordingly 
embarked, with his wife and children. They had not been 
many days at sea, when a violent storm arose, which threaten- 
ed the destruction of the ship, and the loss of all their lives. 
Consternation and terror prevailed among the crew and pas- 
sengers ; his wife also was greatly alarmed. In the midst of 
all, he was perfectly calm and composed : his wife observing 
this, began to upbraid him with want of affection to her and 



LUKE IX. 53 

her children, urging, that if he was not concerned for his own 
safety, he ought to be for theirs. He made no reply, but im- 
mediately left the cabin, to which he returned in a short time 
with his sword drawn in his hand, and with a stern countenance 
pointed it to her breast ; but she, smiling, did not appear at all 
disconcerted or afraid. " What ! " said he, " are you not afraid 
when a drawn sword is at your breast?" " No," answered she, 
" not when I know that it is in the hand of one who loves me." 
" And would you have me," replied he, " to be afraid of this 
storm and tempest, when I know it to be in the hand of my 
heavenly Father, who loves me?" 

ix. 32 But Peter and they that were with him 

were heavy with sleep : and when they were awoke, 
they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with 
him. 

The late Rev. Mr More, minister of the gospel, Selkirk, 
while preaching from these words of Moses, " I beseech thee 
show me thy glory," observing many of his hearers fast asleep, 
made a pause, on which they awoke. He then, in a very so- 
lemn manner, addressed them to the following effect : — " Do 
you think, my friends, had Moses been asleep while the glory 
of God passed by him, that he would have seen it ? The glory 
of God, in the dispensation of the gospel, has just been pass- 
ing by you, and yet you were all asleep ! " Tt need not be add- 
ed, that during that day, at least, he had a more attentive au- 
dience. 

ix. 49. — And John answered and said, Master, we 
saw one casting out devils in thy name ; and we for- 
bade him, because he followeth not with us. 

" Seeing a tree growing somewhat irregular, in a very neat 
orchard," says Mr Flavel, " I told the owner, it was a pity 
that tree should stand there ; and that if it were mine, I would 
root it up, and thereby reduce the orchard to an exact uni- 
formity. He replied, ' that he rather regarded the fruit than 
the form ; and that this light inconveniency was abundantly 
preponderated by a more considerable advantage. This tree/ 
said he, ' which you would root up, hath yielded me more fruit 
than any of those trees which have nothing else to commend 
them but their regular situation.' I could not but yield to the 



54 LUKE X. 

reason of this answer ; and could wish it had been spoken so 
loud, that all our uniformity men had heard it ; who would not 
stick to root up many hundreds of the best bearers in the Lord's 
orchard, because they stand not in exact order with other more 
conformable, but less beneficial, trees, who do destroy the fruits 
to preserve the form." 



x. 6 — And if the son of peace be there, yoi 
peace shall rest upon it : if not, it shall turn to y< 

ncrpnn. 



four 

you 

again. 

A pious minister, conceiving that all his labours among the 
people of his charge were wholly in vain, was so extremely 
grieved and dejected, that he determined to leave his flock, and 
to preach his farewell sermon ; but he was suddenly struck with 
the words, Luke x. 6, " And if the son of peace be there, your 
peace shall rest upon it ; if not, it shall turn to you again." He 
felt as if his Lord and Master had addressed him thus: " Un- 
grateful servant, art thou not satisfied with my promise, that 
my despised peace shall return to you again ? Go on then to 
proclaim peace." Which accordingly he did, with renewed vig- 
our and zeal. 

x. 21. — Thou hast hid these things from the wise 

and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 

Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. 

A pious minister gives the following account of a poor de- 
ranged woman, whose case appears to illustrate the sovereignty 
of divine grace. — u She was a pauper, who usually claimed to 
herself the title of Lady Pitreavie, and was well known in my 
neighbourhood by that name. Shortly after I came here, one 
of my hearers, who knew she had been in my meeting-house, 
said to her, * "Well, my lady, what do you think of our minister ?' 
She replied, with great energy, ' Your minister ! why, I think 
so much of his Master, that I think little of him in comparison.' 

Passing by her one day, she accosted me, ' Mr B , I must 

have you and Mr H to meet with me some day, that I may- 
get my titles to the house of Pitreavie settled.' I said to her, 
* My Lady, the best house which you can now possess, is the 
house eternal in the heavens.' She made answer, * True, but 
the more evidence I have of a title to a house eternal in the 
heavens, the better right have I to a house on earth.' On an- 



LUKE XII. 55 

other occasion, on my addressing her, ' How are you to-day, 
my lady?' she answered, * Whether do you mean as I am in 
myself, or as I am in Christ ?' 1 told her she might take it 
either way. — ' If,' said she, ' you mean how am I as in myself, 
I am a poor sinner ; but if you mean how am I as in Christ, I 
answer, I am complete in him.'" 

xi. 4. — And lead us not into temptation, but de- 
liver us from evil. 

" He that is not satisfied," says Bishop Wilson, " that plays 
are an unlawful diversion, let him, if he dare, offer up this 
prayer to God before he goes, ' Lord, lead me not into tempta- 
tion, and bless me in what I am now to be employed." There 
are many other occupations and amusements, in which the same 
advice is worth attending to. 

xi. 52. — Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have 
taken away the key of knowledge : ye enter not in 
yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hin- 
dered. 

A few years ago, a pilot in Quebec, a Roman Catholic who 
cared nothing at all about religion, picked up an old Bible 
which had been cast ashore from the wreck of a ship. He 
read it through ; and it opened his eyes so much, that he 
could not forbear disputing with his priest upon certain points 
of religion. The priest was much surprised to find him so 
knowing, and inquired how he had received his information : 
upon which the pilot showed him his Bible. The priest de- 
clared it was not a fit book for him to read, and desired he 
would give it into his charge. This the pilot refused, and the 
priest threatened to write to the bishop, and have him excom- 
municated as a heretic. But finding that neither threats nor 
entreaties had any effect, he requested he would just keep it to 
himself, and let none of his neighbours know he had such a 
book. The old pilot declared that he considered the finding of 
that book the happiest event of his life, in consequence of the 
comfort which he received from perusing it. 

xii. 10. — But God said unto him, Thou fool, this 



56 LUKE XIII. 

night thy soul shall be required of thee : then whose 
shall those things be which thou hast provided ? J 

John Cameron, bishop of Glasgow, was so given to covet- 
ousness, extortion, violence, and oppression, especially upon 
his own tenants and vassals, that he would scarcely afford 
them bread to eat, or clothes to cover their nakedness. But 
the night before Christmas-day, and in the midst of his cruel- 
ties, as he lay in bed at his house in Lockwood, he heard a 
voice summoning him to appear before the tribunal of Christ, 
and give an account of his actions. Being terrified with this 
notice, and the pangs of a guilty conscience, he called up his 
servants, commanding them to bring lights, and stay in the 
room with him. He himself took a book in his hand, and be- 
gan to read, but the voice being heard a second time, struck 
all the servants with horror. The same voice repeating the 
summons a third time, and with a louder and more dreadful 
accent, the bishop, after a lamentable and frightful groan, was 
found dead in his bed, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, 
a dreadful spectacle to all beholders. This relation is made 
by the celebrated historian Buchanan, who records it as a re- 
markable example of God's judgment against the sin of op- 
pression. 

xii. 43 — Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, 
when he cometh, shall find so doing. 

Mr Carter, a pious minister, once coming softly behind a 
religious man of his own acquaintance, who was busily employ- 
ed in tanning a hide, and giving him a tap on the shoulder, the 
man started, looked behind, and with a blushing countenance 
said, " Sir, I am ashamed that you should find me thus." To 
whom Mr Carter replied, " Let Christ, when he cometh, find 
me so doing." " What," said the man, " doing thus ?" " Yes," 
said Mr Carter, " faithfully performing the duties of my 
calling." 

xiii. 3 Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 

perish. 

It is said of a Mr T. and three of his associates, that, to en- 
liven a company, they once undertook to mimic a celebrated 
preacher. The proposition was highly gratifying to all pre- 



LUKE XIII. (U 

sent, and a wager was agreed upon, to inspire each individual 
with a desire of excelling in this impious attempt. That their 
jovial auditors might adjudge the prize to the most adroit per- 
former, it was concluded that each should open the Bible, and 
hold forth from the first text that should present itself to his 
eye. Accordingly three in their turns mounted the table, and 
entertained their wicked companions, at the expense of every 
thing sacred. When they had exhausted their little stock of 
buffoonery, it devolved on Mr T. to close this very irreverent 
scene. Much elated, and confident of success, he exclaimed, 
as he ascended the table, " I shall beat you all !" When the 
Bible was handed to him, he had not the slightest preconcep- 
tion what text of Scripture he should make the subject of his 
banter. However, by the guidance of an unerring Providence, 
it opened at the above passage, — " Except ye repent, ye shall 
all likewise perish," No sooner had he uttered the words, than 
his mind was affected in a very extraordinary manner. The 
sharpest pangs of conviction now seized him, and conscience 
denounced vengeance upon his soul. In a moment he was fa- 
voured with a clear view of his subject, and divided his dis- 
course more like a divine, than one who never thought on reli- 
gious topics, except for the purpose of ridicule. He found no 
deficiency of matter, no want of utterance ; and he has been 
frequently heard to declare, " If ever I preached in my life, by 
the assistance of the Spirit of God, it was at that time." The 
impression which the subject made upon his mind, had such an 
effect upon his manner, that the most ignorant and profane 
could not but perceive that what he had spoken was with the 
greatest sincerity. 

xiii. 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing 

of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and 
Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, 
and you yourselves thrust out. 

" One day," says Mrs Alice Gabriel, speaking of her early 
years, " when I was returning home, I saw my dear mother 
sitting on a bank in the orchard, weeping bitterly. I thought 
she was weeping on account of my father's death. I went to 
her, and asked why she wept so ? Her answer was, ' I may 
well weep, to see my children taking the kingdom of heaven 
by violence, while I myself shall be shut out !' I was glad to 
hear her express her concern after salvation ; and, as well as I 



OS LUKE XIV. 

was able, I pointed her to the Lamb of God which taketh away 
the sin of the world, begging her to seek him by secret prayer ; 
and I do believe, from that time, the Lord carried on the work 
of grace in her soul." 

xiv. 5. — Which of you shall have an ass or an ox 

fall into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out 

on the Sabbath-day ? 

A man belonging to one of the South Sea Islands, came to 
the missionaries at a Monday evening meeting, and said his 
mind was troubled, as he feared he had done wrong. He was 
asked in what respect ; when he answered, that on the preced- 
ing day, which was the Sabbath, when returning from public 
worship, he observed that the tide, having risen higher than 
usual, had washed out to sea a large pair of double canoes, 
which he had left on the beach. At first he thought of taking 
a smaller canoe, fetching back the larger ones, and fixing them 
in a place of security ; but while he was deliberating, it oc- 
curred to his recollection that it was the Sabbath, and that the 
Scriptures prohibited any work. He therefore allowed the 
canoes to drift towards the reef, until they were broken on the 
rocks. But, he added, though he did not work on the Sab- 
bath, his rnind was troubled on account of the loss he had 
sustained, and that he thought was wrong. He was imme- 
diately told that he would have done right, had he fetched 
the canoes to the shore on the Sabbath. While these scruples, 
to a person of enlarged information, will appear unnecessary, 
the conscientious feeling which they manifest ought to be re- 
spected. 

xiv. 11 Whosoever exalteth himself, shall be 

abased; and he that humbleth himself, shall be ex- 
alted. 

In the evening of the day Sir Eardly Wilmot kissed his Ma- 
jesty's hands on being appointed chief justice, one of his sons, 
a youth of seventeen, attended him to his bed-side. " Now," 
said he, " my son, I will tell you a secret worth your knowing 
and remembering. The elevation I have met with in life, par- 
ticularly this last instance of it, has not been owing to any su- 
perior merit or abilities, but to my humility ; to my not having 
set up myself above others, and to an uniform endeavour to 
pass through life void of offence towards God and man." 



LUKE XV. 59 

x\% 7 Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner 

that repenteth. 

Mahomed Rahem, a Persian, having been asked respecting 
the change that had taken place in his religious sentiments, 
gave the following account : — " In the year 1223 of the Hegira, 
there came to this city an Englishman, who taught the religion 
of Christ with a boldness hitherto unparalleled in Persia, in the 
midst of scorn and much ill-treatment from our mollahs, as well 
as the rabble. He was a beardless youth, and evidently en- 
feebled by disease. He dwelt amongst us for more than a year. 
' I was then a decided enemy to infidels, as the Christians are 
termed by the followers of Mahomet, and I visited this teacher 
of the despised sect, with the declared object of treating him 
with scorn, and exposing his doctrines to contempt. Although 
I persevered for some time in this behaviour towards him, I 
found that every interview not only increased my respect for 
the individual, but diminished my confidence in the faith in 
which I was educated. His extreme forbearance towards the 
violence of his opponents, the calm and yet convincing man- 
ner in which he exposed the fallacies and sophistries by which 
he was assailed, for he spoke Persian excellently, gradually in- 
clined me to listen to his arguments, to inquire dispassionately 
into the subject of them, and finally, to read a tract which he 
had written in reply to a defence of Islamism, by our chief 
mollahs. Need I detain you longer ? The result of my ex- 
amination was a conviction, that the young disputant was right. 
Shame, or rather fear, withheld me from avowing this opinion; 
I even avoided the society of the christian teacher, though he 
remained in the city so long. Just before he quitted Shiraz, 
I could not refrain from paying him a farewell visit. Our 
conversation, — the memory of it will never fade from the tablet 
of my mind, — sealed my conversion — He gave me a book, — 
it has ever been my constant companion ; the study of it has 
formed my most delightful occupation, — its contents have often 
consoled me. Upon this he put into my hands a copy of the 
New Testament in Persian ; on one nf the blank leaves was 
written — 

1 THERE IS JOY IN HEAVEN OVER ONE SINNER 
THAT REPENTETH. 

HENRY MARTYN.' " 

xv. 12, 13. — And he divided unto them his living. 



60 LUKE XVI. 

And not many days after, the younger son gathered 
all together, and took his journey into a far country, 
and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 

The late Admiral Williams, when young, was gay, and so 
addicted to expensive pleasures, that no remonstrances had the 
power to reclaim him, being so enamoured with ruinous folly. 
When his father died, he joined the rest of the family to hear 
the will read. His name did not occur among those of the 
other children, and he looked upon the omission as a testimony 
of his father's resentment against him : At the close of it, how- 
ever, he found himself brought in as residuary legatee, or, who 
was to receive all that remained of his father's property, after 
paying the other legacies, in these words : — " All the rest of 
my estate and effects I leave to my son Peer Williams, know- 
ing that he will spend it all." On hearing this, the young gen- 
tleman burst into tears : " My father," said he, " has touched 
the right string, and his reproach shall not be thrown away." 
From that time he altered his conduct, and became an orna- 
ment to his profession. 

xvi. 2. — Give an account of thy stewardship ; for 
thou mayest be no longer steward. 

A wealthy but niggardly gentleman was waited on by the 
advocates of a charitable institution, for which they solicited 
his aid, reminding him of the divine declaration (Prov. xix. 
17), " He that hath pity on the poor, lendeth unto the Lord ; 
and that what he hath given will he pay him again." To this 
he replied, " The security, no doubt, is good, and the interest 
liberal ; but I cannot give such long credit." Poor rich man ! 
the day of payment was much nearer than he anticipated. Not 
a fortnight had elapsed from his refusing to honour this claim 
of God upon his substance, before he received a summons with 
which he could not refuse to comply. It was, " This night 
thy soul shall be required of thee, then whose shall those things 
be which thou hast withheld ?" 

xvi. 22, 23. — The rich man also died ; and in hell 
he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. 

A nobleman who lived in the neighbourhood of the Rev. Mr 
D , one day asked him to dine with him. Before dinner 



LUKE XVII. 61 

they walked into the garden, and after viewing the various pro- 
ductions and rarities with which it abounded, his lordship ex- 
claimed, " Well, Mr D , you see I want for nothing ; I 

have all that my heart can wish for." As Mr D made no 

reply, but appeared thoughtful, his lordship asked him the rea- 
son ? " Why, my lord," said the old man, " I have been think- 
ing, that a man may have all these things, and go to hell after 
all." The words powerfully struck the nobleman, and through 
the blessing of God terminated in his conversion. 

xvii. 15, 16. — And one of them, when he saw that 
he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice 
glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, 
giving him thanks ; and he was a Samaritan. 

Admiral Benbow, after many years of hard service, for he 
had only merit to recommend him, visited Shrewsbury, his 
native town, and, on his arrival, proceeded to the house of his 
nativity, which was then occupied by people in no way related 
to him, yet he entered the house as if it had been his own, 
walked up stairs, went into the room where he first drew breath, 
fell on his knees, and returned thanks to the great Disposer of 
events, for his protection and support through his past event- 
ful life. 

xvii. 22 — The days will come, when ye shall de- 
sire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye 
shall not see it. 

" A gay and thoughtless young man," says Mr Innes in his 
useful work on domestic duties, " who had often opposed a 
pious father's wishes, by spending the Sabbath in idleness and 
folly, instead of accompanying his parents to the house of God, 
was taking a ride one Sabbath morning. After riding for some 
time at great speed, he suddenly pulled up his horse, while the 
animal, by stopping more suddenly than he expected, gave him 
such a sudden jerk, that it injured the spinal marrow ; and when 
he came to his father's door, he had totally lost the use of the 
lower extremities of his body. He was lifted from his horse, 
and laid on that bed which was destined to prove to him the 
bed of death ; and there he had leisure to reflect on his ways. 
It was when in this situation I was asked to visit him, and he 



62 LUKE XVIII. 

then discovered the deepest solicitude about the things that 
belonged to his eternal peace. He eagerly listened to the re- 
presentation that was given him respecting the evil of sin, its 
dreadful consequences, and the ground of hope to the guilty. 
He seemed much impressed with a sense of his need of pardon- 
in? mercy, and thankfully to receive it in the way that God 
hath revealed. Many parts of the conversations I had with 
him now escape my recollection, but some of his expressions I 
shall not easily forget. On one occasion, when referring to 
his past life, and finding himself now unable to attend public 
worship, he exclaimed, ' O ! what would I give now for some 
of those Sabbaths which I formerly treated with contempt !' 
He seemed deeply to feel and to deplore his guilt in having so 
heinously rnisimproved the precious opportunities of waiting on 
the public ordinances of religion, which, in the day of health, 
he had enjoyed." 

xviii. 1. — And lie spake a parable unto them to 
this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to 
faint. 

Mr Elliot was eminent for prayer ; and whenever any re- 
markable difficulty lay before him, he took the way of prayer, 
in order to encounter and overcome it ; being of Dr Preston's 
mind, " That when he would have any great things to be ac- 
complished, the best policy is to work by an engine which the 
world sees nothing of." When he heard any important news, 
he usually said, " Let us turn ail this into prayer." And if 
he came to a house where he was intimately acquainted, he used 
frequently to say, " Come, let us not have a visit without a 
prayer. Let us, before we part, pray for the blessing of heaven 
on our family." 

xviii. 29, 30 — Verily I say unto you, there is no 
man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or 
wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 
who shall not receive manifold more in this present 
time, and in the world to come life everlasting. 

A young person who had been a Sabbath scholar, went to 
live in a family in which religion was wholly neglected. On 
the other side of the street a pious family resided, who strictly 



LUKE XIX. 63 

observed the Sabbath. The young woman perceived that the 
servants were allowed to attend public worship twice every 
Lord's day, while she could not go once to church, as her mas- 
ter generally invited company to dinner on that day. She re- 
minded her mistress of this circumstance, and requested she 
might go to chapel one part of the Sabbath. This was refused, 
on the ground that she could not be spared. She then resolved, 
that if any vacancy occurred in the family opposite, she would 
offer herself. This happening soon after, she waited upon the 
lady, who observed, " I am afraid that, as you have high wages 
where you now live, my place will not suit you, as I give but 
five pounds a-year, but if you will come for that, I will try 
you." The young woman consented, and entered into the fa- 
mily. A gentleman visiting in the house, being acquainted 
with the case, presented her with a Bible, on the blank leaf of 
which he wrote — Luke xviii. 29, 30, " Verily I say unto you, 
there is no man who hath left house, or parents, or brethren, 
or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall 
not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world 
to come life everlasting." 

xix. 8 — Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I 
give to the poor, and if I have taken any thing from 
any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 

One of the Moorish Kings of Spain wished to build a pavi- 
lion on a field near his garden, and offered to purchase it of 
the woman to whom it belonged, but she would not consent to 
part with the inheritance of her fathers. The field, however, 
was seized, and the building was erected. The poor woman 
complained to a cadi, who promised to do all in his power to 
serve her. One day, while the king was in the field, the cadi 
came with an empty sack, and asked permission to fill it with. 
the earth on which he was treading. He obtained leave, and 
when the sack was filled, he requested the king to complete his 
kindness by assisting him to load his ass with it. The monarch 
laughed, and tried to lift it, but soon let it fall, complaining of 
its enormous weight. " It is, however," said the cadi, " only 
a small part of the ground which thou hast wrested from one 
of thy subjects ; how then wilt thou bear the weight of the 
whole field when thou shalt appear before the Great Judge 
laden with this iniquity?" The king thanked him for his re- 
proof, and not only restored the field to its owner, but gave her 



64 LUKE XX. 

the building which he had erected, and all the wealth which it 
contained. 

xix. 13. — Occupy till I come. 

When Mr Whitefield was last in America, Mr Tennent paid 
him a visit, as he was passing through New Jersey ; and one 
day dined, with other ministers, at a gentleman's house. After 
dinner, Mr W. adverted to the difficulties attending the gospel 
ministry ; lamented that all their zeal availed but little ; said 
that he was weary with the burdens of the day ; declared his 
great consolation that in a short time his work would be done, 
when he should depart and be with Christ : he then appealed 
to the ministers if it was not their great comfort that they 
should go to rest. They generally assented, except Mr T. 
who sat next to Mr W. in silence, and by his countenance dis- 
covered but little pleasure in the conversation. On which Mr 
W., tapping him on the knee, said, " Well, brother Tennent, 
you are the oldest man among us, do you not rejoice to think 
that your time is so near at hand, when you will be called 
home ?" Mr T. bluntly answered, " I have no wish about it." 
Mr W. pressed him again; Mr T. again answered, " No, Sir, 
it is no pleasure to me at all ; and if you knew your duty, it 
would be none to you. I have nothing to do with death, my 
business is to live as long as I can — as well as I can — and 
serve my Master as faithfully as I can, until he shall think pro- 
per to call me home." Mr W. still urged for an explicit an- 
swer to his question, in case the time of death were left to his 
own choice. Mr T. replied, " I have no choice about it ; I 
am God's servant, and have engaged to do his business as long 
as he pleases to continue me therein. But now, brother, let 
me ask you a question. What do you think I would say, if I 
was to send my man into the field to plough ; and if at noon I 
should go to the field, and find him lounging under a tree, and 
complaining, ' Master, the sun is very hot, and the ploughing 
hard, I am weary of the work you have appointed me, and am 
overdone with the heat and burden of the day. Do, master, 
let me return home, and be discharged from this hard service?' 
What would I say ? why, that he was a lazy fellow, that it was 
his business to do the work that I had appointed him, until I 
should think fit to call him home." 

xx. 15, 16. — So they cast him out of the vine- 
yard, and killed him. What therefore shall the 



LUKE XX. 65 

Lord of the vineyard do unto them ? He shall 
come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give 
the vineyard to others. 

The awful calamities that came on the Jews, soon after our 
Saviour's ascension, are well known, and furnish a dreadful 
illustration of the above passage. At the Passover, when it 
was supposed there were upwards of two millions of people in 
the city of Jerusalem, the Romans surrounded it with their 
armies, and cast trenches, and raised walls round it, in order 
that none might escape. Fierce factions raged within, and 
destroyed one another. Titus, the Roman general, earnestly 
. endeavoured to persuade the Jews to an advantageous surren- 
der, but they scorned every proposal. From extremity of fa- 
mine, they were compelled to feed on human flesh, and even 
noble women were known to murder and devour their own 
children. Numbers were carried off by the pestilence. After 
a siege of six months, the city was taken ; and, provoked by 
their obstinacy, the Romans made terrible havoc among the in- 
habitants. The temple was burnt to ashes, and its very foun- 
dations ploughed up. In Jerusalem alone, 1,100,000 are said 
to have perished by the sword, famine, and pestilence, besides 
multitudes who were destroyed in various parts of the country. 

xx. 24, 25 — Show me a penny. Whose image 
and superscription hath it ? They answered and 
said, Caesar's. And he said unto them, Render 
therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, 
and unto God the things which be God's. 

The preparing and circulating of counterfeit coin, is un- 
doubtedly among the worst species of fraud. In the following 
instance, the reading of the Scriptures, by the divine blessing, 
proved an effectual check to this iniauitous practice. 

Some time ago, a man travelling in Ireland, being benight- 
ed, opened a cabin door, and requested permission to lodge 
there, which was granted. The poor man who inhabited the 
house, was, according to his usual custom, reading a chapter 
of the Bible to his family. When the stranger was seated, he 
resumed his reading, and having prayed, the family retired to 
In the morning, the same thing again took place, which 



66 



LUKE XXI. 



seemed to excite the attention of the stranger. On rising 
from their knees, the stranger thanked his kind host for his 
hospitality, and informed him that he had travelled into that 
part of the country, in order to attend a fair, for the wicked 
purpose of passing bad money : That he brought with him 
base coin to the amount of four pounds : that this was the first 
time he had taken up such a practice, but that what he had 
heard in the cabin, had made such an impression on his mind, 
that he had resolved it should be the last. He then took out 
of his pocket a small bag, containing the counterfeits, and threw 
it into the fire. 

xxi. 3, 4. — Of a truth I say unto you, that this 
poor widow hath cast in more than they all : For 
all these of their abundance cast in unto the offer- 
ings of God : but she of her penury hath cast in all 
the living that she had. 

The Rev. Dr Dickson of Edinburgh, at the Anniversary of 
the London Missionary Society in 1829, related the following 
anecdote : — " Once when I was soliciting contributions on be- 
half of the Scottish Missionary Society, I preached in Paisley. 
The next day, I was met by an old and meanly dressed woman, 
who asked me how I did. I replied, I did not know who she 
was. She answered, ' Sir, I heard you preach yesterday. I 
was out of work four days, but Providence relieved me. Now, 
I do not like to be present at a Missionary meeting when I 
have nothing to give : so I went to some friends, and told what 
you had said; so one gave me 6d. another 4d. and another Id. 
and several others one halfpenny, making altogether 19£d. I 
could do nothing less than show my gratitude to God, for the 
straits from which he has relieved me.' I thought more of 
that nineteenpence-halfpenny than of the tens and fifties of 
pounds I had previously received ; for it is the spirit with 
which it is given that sanctifies the gift. If, then, God has 
prospered you more than formerly, I intreat you to act in the 
spirit of the poor woman of Paisley ; and not only to cheer the 
hearts of the christian directors of this Institution, but to en- 
able them to cheer the hearts of the millions of human beings, 
who, but for you, may never hear of the way to eternal life." 

xxi. 34. — Take heed to yourselves, lest at any 



LUKE XXII. 



67 



time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and 
drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day 
come upon you unawares. 

In that part of the country of the Grisons, which adjoins 
to the state of Venice, formerly stood the ancient town of 
Pleuers, built on a rising ground near the foot of a mountain. 
The situation was considered healthy ; the gardens were de- 
lightful, and hither the neighbouring gentry used to come on 
Sabbath, and spend the day in all manner of riot and debauchery. 
Their voluptuousness was great, and the enormity of their 
crimes was aggravated by their abuse of the blessings of Divine 
Providence. A lady told Bishop Burnet, that she had heard 
her mother often repeat some passages of a protestant minister's 
sermons, who preached in a little church in the neighbourhood 
of the place. He intimated in his discourse, that nothing but 
a timely repentance, and the forsaking of their evil ways, would 
screen them from divine justice, which would soon be executed 
upon them in a most signal manner. This was good advice, 
but, alas ! it was slighted, and the people continued to go on 
in the same manner as before. 

On the 25th of August 1618, an inhabitant came, and told 
them to be gone, for he saw the mountain cleaving, and that it 
would soon fall upon them ; but he was only laughed at. He 
had a daughter, whom he persuaded to leave all, and go along 
with him : but, when she had got out of the town, she recol- 
lected that she had not locked the door of a room in which she 
had left several things of value ; she accordingly went back ; 
but in the meantime the mountain fell, and she was buried in 
the ruins, together with every person there present , not one 
escaping. The fall of the mountain choking up the river that 
ran near the bottom, first spread the alarm over the neighbour- 
ing country. " I could hear no particular character," says 
Bishop Burnet, " of the man who escaped, so I must leave the 
secret reason of so singular preservation to the great discovery 
at the last day, when those steps of Divine Providence, which 
we cannot now account for, will be disclosed." 

xxii. 20 — Likewise also the cup after supper, say- 
ing, This cup is the New Testament in my blood, 
which is shed for you. 

" In the twelfth year of my age," says Mr Robert Blair, in 



68 LUKE XXIIT. 

giving account of his life, " the supper of the Lord having 
been celebrated in Irvine, I was admirably taken with the ser- 
mon ; and, my spirit having been likewise greatly ravished 
with the first exhortation ar the table, I earnestly desired to 
communicate ; but having got breakfast, I durst not, for it was 
then a generally received opinion, that the sacrament behoved 
to be received fasting ; and, being also greatly moved with the 
second exhortation, I secretly lamented that my bodily break- 
fast should bereave me of a soul banquet ; but observing these 
words " after supper," in the third exhortation, I thus reason- 
ed with myself : Did Christ arid his disciples celebrate this 
sacrament after supper, and can it be a fault in me to celebrate 
the same after breakfast? Sure it can be none ; and so I sat 
down at the next table, and communicated. This was the 
Lord s work to his poor child, to make me his covenanted and 
sealed servant.' 

xxii, 35 — When I sent you without purse, and 
scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing ? And they 
said, Nothing. 

Mr Mason was an acting magistrate for the county of Sur- 
rey ; an excellent man, and the author of many evangelical 
works. In reference to the preceding passage, he says " These 
were precious words to me. With tears of thankfulness I re- 
cord the goodness of my Lord to the chief of sinners, up- 
wards of twenty years ago, when it pleased God to call me by 
his grace, and make me happy in his love, my name was cast 
out as evil — friends became foes — their hands were against me 
— they withdrew their favours from me, and derided me — under 
narrow circumstances, tender feelings for a large family, carnal 
reasonings of my corrupt nature, and strong temptations from 
the enemy, I was sore distressed. But the Lord was gracious : 
and often did he bring this text to my mind, lackest thou any 
thing ? I was constrained with gratitude to reply, nothing, 
Lord. Christ is a most precious Master to serve! I have 
proved it." Thus too shall all his servants have to say. Let 
us then, under the darkest dispensation of his providence, trust 
in him, and not be afraid. 

xxiii. 34. — Father, forgive them ; for they know- 
not what thev do. 



LUKE XXIII. 69 

A wealthy merchant, in America, lately gave the following 
account : — As he was standing at his door, a venerable grey- 
headed man approached him, and asked an alms. He answered 
him with severity, and demanded why he lived so useless a life. 
The beggar answered, that " age disabled him for labour, and 
he had committed himself to the providence of God, and the 
kindness of good people." The rich man was at this time an 
infideL He ordered the old man to depart, at the same time 
casting some reflections on the providence of God. The ve- 
nerable beggar descended the steps, and kneeling at the bottom, 
audibly offered up the following prayer : — " O my gracious 
God, I thank thee that my bread and water are sure ; but I 
pray thee, in thy intercession above, to remember this man ; 
he hath reflected on thy providence. Father ! forgive him, he 
knows not what he saith." Thus the present scene ended. 
The words, " Father! forgive him, he knows not what he 
saith," constantly rung in the ears of the rich man. He was 
much disconcerted during the following night. The next day, 
being called on business to a neighbouring town, he overtook 
the old man on the road. As he afterwards confessed, the 
sight almost petrified him with guilt and fear. He dismounted, 
when an interesting conversation ensued. At the close of it 
the old man remarked: — " Yesterday, I was hungry, and call- 
ed at the door of a rich man. He was angry, and told me he did 
not believe in the providence of God, and bid me depart ; but 
at the next house I had a plentiful meal. And this, mark ye ! 
was the house of a poor woman." The wealthy man confessed, 
that at this moment he was pierced with a sense of guilt. He 
then gave some money to the poor man, of whom he never 
could hear afterwards ; yet the sound of these words being im- 
pressed on his mind by the last interview — " He knows not 
what he saith," — never left him, till he was brought to chris- 
tian repentance. 

xxiii. 56. — They rested the Sabbath-day, accord- 
ing to the commandment. 

Southey, in his life of Wesley, tells us, that John Nelson, a 
methodist preacher, being once desired by his master's foreman 
to work on the Lord's day, on the ground that the king's busi- 
ness required dispatch, and that it was common to work on the 
Sabbath for his majesty, when any thing was wanted in a parti- 
cular haste ; Nelson boldly declared, " That he would not 
work upon the Sabbath for any man in the kingdom, except it 



70 LUKE XXIV. 

were to quench fire, or something that required immediate 
help. " Religion," says the foreman, " has made you a rebel 
against the king." " No, Sir," he replied, " it has made me 
a better subject than ever I was. The greatest enemies the 
king has, are Sabbath-breakers, swearers, drunkards, and whore- 
mongers ; for these bring down God's judgments upon the king 
and country." He was told he should lose his employment if 
he would not obey his orders ; his answer was, " he would 
rather want bread, than wilfully offend God." The foreman 
swore, that he would be as mad as Whitefield, if he went on. 
" What hast thou done," said he, " that thou needest make so 
much ado about salvation ? T always took thee to be as honest 
a man as 1 have in the work, and would have trusted thee with 
.£500." " So you might," answered Nelson, " and not have 
lost a penny by me." " I have a worse opinion of thee now, ' 
said the foreman. " Master," rejoined he, " I have the odds 
of you, for I have a worse opinion of myself than you can have. 
The issue, however, was, that the work was not pursued on 
the Sabbath ; and Nelson rose in the good opinion of his em- 
ployer, for having shown a sense of his duty as a Christian. 

xxiv. 27. — And, beginning at Moses and all the 
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scrip- 
tures the things concerning himself. 

Dr Cotton paid a visit to Dr Young, author of the " Night 
Thoughts," about a fortnight before his last illness. The sub- 
ject of conversation was " Newton on the Prophecies," when 
Dr Young closed the conversation thus : — " My friend, there 
are three considerations upon which my faith in Christ is built, 
as upon a rock : The fall of man, the redemption of man, and 
the resurrection of man. These three cardinal articles of our 
religion are such as human ingenuity could never have invent- 
ed ; therefore they must be divine. The other argument is 
this; if the prophecies have been fulfilled, of which there is 
abundant demonstration, the Scriptures must be the word of 
God; and if the Scripture is the word of God, Christianity 
must be true." 

xxiv. 45 — Then opened he their understanding, 
that they might understand the Scriptures. 

M 1 see," said the Rev. John Cowper, brother of the poet. 



JOHN I. 71 

" the rock upon which I once split, and see the rock of my 
salvation. I have peace in myself; and, if I live, I hope it 
will be that I may be made a messenger of peace to others. I 
have learned that in a moment, which I could not have learn- 
ed by reading many books for many years. I have often stu- 
died these points, and studied them with great attention, but 
was blinded by prejudice ; and, unless He who alone is w T orthy 
to unloose the seals, had opened the book, I had been blinded 
still. Now they appear so plain, that though I am convinced 
no comment could ever have made me understand them, I 
wonder I did not see them before. Yet great as my doubts 
and difficulties were, they have only served to pave the way, 
and being solved, they make it plainer. — The subjects crowd 
upon me faster than I can give them utterance. — How plain do 
many texts appear, to which, after consulting all the comment- 
aries, I could hardly affix a meaning ; and now I have their 
true meaning without any comment at all." 



JOHN. 

Chap. i. 14. — The Word was made flesh, and 
dwelt among us. 

The late Mr William Greenfield was once in company at 
the house of a friend, with a gentleman of deistical principles, 
a stranger to him, who put to him the following among many 
other questions: " Can you give me the reason why Jesus 
Christ is called The Word ? What is meant by the Word ? It 
is a curious term." Mr Greenfield, unconscious of the motive 
of the sceptical principles of the inquirer, replied with the 
mild simplicity and decision by which his character was mark- 
ed, " I suppose, as words are the medium of communication 
between us, the term is used in the sacred Scriptures to de- 
monstrate that he is the only medium between God and man ; 
I know no other reason." The deist's mouth was shut. 

i. 29 — Behold the Lamb of God which taketh 
away the sin of the world ! 

A little boy reading to his mother about the lion, in a book 



I A JOHN III. 

of natural history, said, " Mamma, the lion is a noble animal, 
but I love the lamb better ; and T will tell you why I love it bet- 
ter ; because Jesus Christ is called the Lamb of God, which tak- 
eth away the sin of the world." 

ii. 6. — And there were set there six water-pots of 
stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, 
containing two or three firkins a-piece. 

" The ruins of a church," says Dr Clarke in his Travels, 
" are shown in this place (Cana of Galilee), which is said to 
have been erected over the spot where the marriage-feast of 
Cana was celebrated. It is worthy of notice, that walking 
among these ruins, we saw large massy stone waterpots, an- 
swering to the description given of the ancient vessels of the 
country ; not preserved, or exhibited as relics, but lying about 
disregarded by the present inhabitants, as antiquities with 
whose original use they were unacquainted. From their ap- 
pearance, and the number of them, it is quite evident that a 
practice of keeping water in large stone pots, each holding from 
eighteen to twenty-seven gallons, was once common in the 
country." 

iii. 16. — For God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Mr Nott, missionary in the South Sea Islands, was on one 
occasion reading a portion of the gospel of John to a number 
of the natives. When he had finished the sixteenth verse of 
the third chapter, a native, who had listened with avidity and 
joy to the words, interrupted him, and said, " What words 
were those you read ? What sounds were those I heard ? Let 
me hear those words again ?" Mr Nott again read the verse, 
" God so loved," &c. when the native rose from his seat, and 
said, " Is that true? Can that be true? God love the world, 
when the world not love him. God so love the world, as to 
give his Son to die, that man might not die. Can that be 
true?" Mr Nott again read the verse, " God so loved the 
world," &c. told him it was true, and that it was the message 
God had sent to them, and that whosoever believed in him, 
would not perish, but be happy after death. The overwhelm- 



ing feelings of the wondering native were too powerful for ex- 
pression or restraint. He burst into tears, and as these chased 
each other down his countenance, he retired to meditate in pri- 
vate on the amazing love of God, which had that day touched 
his soul ; and there is every reason to believe he was after- 
wards raised to share the peace and happiness resulting from 
the love of God shed abroad in his heart. 

iii. 20 — Every one that doeth evil hateth the 

light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds 

should be reproved. 

A gentleman once visiting an acquaintance of his, whose con- 
duct was as irregular as his principles were erroneous, was as- 
tonished to see a large Bible in the hall chained fast to the 
floor. He ventured to inquire the reason — " Sir," replied his 
infidel friend, " I am obliged to chain down that book, to pre- 
vent its flying in my face." Such persons hate the Bible, as 
Ahab did Micaiah, because it never speaks good concerning 
them, but evil. 

iv. 14, 15. — Whosoever drinketh of the water that 
I shall give him shall never thirst. The woman 
saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst 
not, neither come hither to draw. 

" When in the market-place," says the Rev. Jonas King, 
missionary in Greece, " I saw several women who had water 
to sell : good water here is scarce, and brought from the mo- 
nastery, which is a considerable distance from the city. As I 
passed by them, one of them asked me to drink ; I told her that 
I had plenty of good water at my house : still, however, she 
asked me again if I would not drink. I replied, ' There is one 
who can give us water, of which if we drink, we shall never 
thirst. He that drinks of this water, will thirst again : but the 
other is the water of eternal life ; and he who drinks of it will 
thirst no more.' This reply, which I supposed would be un- 
derstood, seemed to excite some wonder and curiosity; and 
several young men who were near, came around me to hear 
what I had said to the woman. One of the young men said, 
* Sir, where is that water ? We wish for it. Where is he who 
has it ?' 1 said, * Come with me to my house, and I will show 



you. It is Jesus Christ.' Still they did not seem to under- 
stand ; and some said, ' He must be a physician ; he will give 
us something which will prevent us from thirsting.' As many 
began to collect, I thought it best to go away, and returned to 
my lodgings. Several young men, however, followed me, and 
expressed a desire to know where that water, of which I had 
spoken, could be found : so I took the New Testament, and 
read to them a part of the fourth chapter of St John's Gospel, 
from the fifth to the fifteenth verse : and gave them the book 
to carry with them to the market-place to read the whole chap- 
ter, and explain what I had said to those who were desirous of 
knowing. ' Ah !' said one of them, after I had read the por- 
tion above mentioned, * I perceive that he is speaking in a 
figure :' and went on explaining to the others what he supposed 
I intended to say." 

iv. 31, 32. — His disciples prayed him, saying, 
Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to 
eat that ye know not of. 

On a sacramental occasion, in 1741, Mr Colin Brown, an 
eminently pious man, and who had formerly been provost of 
Perth, from the deep interest he felt in the solemn introduc- 
tory services of the day, which the Rev. Mr Wilson had been 
conducting, continued in the church beyond the ordinary time, 
without retiring for refreshment. "When entreated by his 
friends to retire, he excused himself by saying, — " Here I 
have been getting much of that meat to eat, which the world 
knoweth not of." 

v. 24, 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that 

heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, 
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into con- 
demnation ; but is passed from death unto life. Ve- 
rily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and 
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the 
Son of God ; and they that hear shall live. 

The following examination took place on the fifth chapter of 
John's Gospel, in one of the schools of the Hibernian Society. 
" I asked the meaning." say? the visitor, " of the 24th verse. 



JOHN VI. tO 

' He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, 
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, 
but is passed from death unto life.' A boy about thirteen 
years of age answered, ' Jesus said, He that heareth my words, 
and believeth on God the Father, who sent me into this world, 
hath everlasting life.' I asked what was everlasting life. He 
answered, * Heaven and glory for ever.' I asked what was the 
meaning of not coming into condemnation ; and he said, ' Not 
to be condemned with the wicked to everlasting punishment, 
but to pass from death unto life, by believing in Jesus Christ.' 
I again asked what was the voice of the Son of God, men- 
tioned in the 25th verse. He answered, ' The Scripture is 
the voice, and the dead in sins, that will hear the Scriptures, 
which speak of Jesus, shall live for ever.' I also asked who 
was the Son of Man mentioned in the 27th verse. He replied, 
* Jesus was the Son of Man.' I said, How can Jesus be the 
Son of God and the Son of Man ? He answered, ' Because he 
came from heaven he was the Son of God, and because he w r as 
born of the Jews he was the Son of man.' " 

v. 39 — Search the Scriptures ; for in them ye 
think ye have eternal life ; and they are they which 
testify of me. 

A sermon having been preached for the Bible Society a 
number of years ago in England, the next day the poor people 
of the place brought their little contributions to the clergyman's 
house. A little girl, four or five years old, accompanied her 
elder sister ; and after listening with eager attention to all that 
past, at last cried out, " I will go for my money too, that I 
will." The clergyman, thinking that so young a child could not 
understand the meaning of what had been said, asked her what 
she wanted to do with her money ? " To give it to you," she 
replied, " that you may buy Bibles for the poor negroes." " But 
what good will the Bible do them, my dear ?" " Oh, it will tell 
them all about Jesus Christ ; and how to get to heaven — So be 
sure to buy Bibles with my money, and send them to the poor 
black men," she added, with great earnestness, and tears in her 
eyes. 

vi. 32 — My Father giveth you the true bread 
from heaven. 



76 



JOHN VII. 



When the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine's doctrine was impugned, 
and his discourses complained of before the ecclesiastical courts, 
he was enabled to vindicate himself with great dignity and cou- 
rage ; and expressions sometimes fell from his lips, which, for a 
time, overawed and confounded his enemies. On one occasion, 
at a meeting of the synod of Fife, according to the account of a 
respectable witness, when some members were denying the Fa- 
ther's gift of our Lord Jesus to sinners of mankind, he rose and 
said, " Moderator, our Lord Jesus says of himself, * My Father 
giveth you the true bread from heaven.' This he uttered to a 
promiscuous multitude ; and let me see the man who dares to 
affirm that he said wrong ?" This short speech, aided by the 
solemnity and energy with which it was delivered, made an un- 
common impression on the Synod, and on all that were present. 

vi. 37 — Him that cometh to me I will in no wise 
cast out. 

A clergyman was called to visit a poor dying woman, who 
was quite ignorant of the truth. After conversing with her 
on the depravity of human nature, and the way "of salvation 
by Jesus Christ, that it was all of grace, and that there was 
no limitation as to person or state ; the woman listened to every 
word with great attention ; the tears began to trickle down her 
cheeks ; and at last she said, " I know nothing of the man of 
whom you have been speaking;" immediately adding, " I was 
never brought up in the way of religion ; never taught to know 
a letter of a book, nor attend any place of worship." The 
clergyman visiting her next day, began to discourse upon the 
suitableness, the ability, and willingness of Jesus to save perish- 
ing sinners. " And do you think, Sir," said she, " he will 
save such a vile wretch as I am ? " He observed, the promise 
ran thus, " Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." 
Here she found a basis to rest on. Her knowledge of divine 
things rapidly increased; and her fervent devotions seemed 
now to be the perpetual breathings of her soul. She continued 
in this state about six weeks, soliciting the company of all 
christian friends to converse and pray with her, giving evident 
marks of being a subject of that grace to which she had so long 
been a stranger. 

vii. 1. — Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not 
walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him- 



JOHN VIII. 77 

In Tournay, about 1544, a very noted professor of the Pro- 
testant religion, being earnestly sought after, had concealed 
himself so closely, that his persecutors were unable to discover 
where he was hid. Contrary, however, to the advice and en- 
treaty of his wife and friends, he gave himself up, desirous of 
the glory of martyrdom; but being adjudged to be burnt, he 
recanted and abjured the faith, in order to be beheaded. The 
papists improved this, in order to decoy his fellow-sufferers to 
the like recantation ; but they replied, " He had tempted God 
by rushing upon danger without a call, but they had to the 
utmost of their power shunned it, and hoped that since he had 
called them to suffer, he would support them under it." And 
it so happened, they went to the fire in solemn pomp, and 
were consumed loudly singing the praise of God even in the 
flames, till their strength was exhausted. We are not to court 
sufferings ; it is enough, if we cheerfully endure them when, 
in the providence of God, we are called to it. Our Lord 
himself says to his disciples, " When they persecute you in 
one city, flee ye into another.'' 

vii. 45, 46 — The Pharisees said unto them, Why 
have ye not brought him ? The officers answered, 
Never man spake like this man. 

Mr Powell, a minister of the gospel, being informed that an 
officer was come to apprehend him for preaching the gospel, 
quietly resigned himself into his hands, requesting only that he 
might be permitted to join with his wife and children in prayer, 
before he was dragged to prison. With this request the officer 
complied, and the family being together, the officer was so 
struck with the ardent and tender prayers of this suffering ser- 
vant of God for his family, for the church, and for his perse- 
cutors in particular, that he declared he would die rather than 
have a hand in apprehending such a man. 

viii. 24. — If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall 
die in your sins. 

Voltaire spent his whole life in malignant but vain attempts 
to ridicule and overturn Christianity. He was the idol of a 
large portion of the French nation ; but just when they were 
decreeing new honours for him, and loading him with fresh ap- 
plause, then the hour of his ignominy and shame was .fully 



78 JOHN IX. 

come. In a moment the approach of death dissipated his de- 
lusive dreams, and filled his guilty soul with inexpressible hor- 
ror. As if moved by magic, conscience started from her lono- 
slumbers, and unfolded before him the broad extended roll of 
all his crimes. Ah ! whither could he fly for relief? - Fury 
and despair succeeded each other by turns, and he had more the 
appearance of a demon than a man. To his physician he said, 
" Doctor, I will give you half of what I am worth, if you will 
give me six months' life." The doctor answered, " Sir, you 
cannot live six weeks." Voltaire replied, " Then shall 1 go 
to hell, and you shall go with me ;" and soon after expired. 

viii. 44. — Ye are of your father the devil. 

Of Mr Haynes, the coloured preacher, it is said, that some 
time after the publication of his sermon on the text, " Thou 
shalt not surely die," two reckless young men having agreed 
together to try his wit, one of them said, " Father Haynes, 
have you heard the good news?" " No," said Mr Haynes, 
" what is it?" " It is great news indeed," said the other, 
" and, if true, your business is done." " What is it," again 
inquired Mr Haynes. " Why," said the first, " the devil is 
dead." In a moment the old gentleman replied, lifting up 
both hands, and placing them on the heads of the young men, 
and in a tone of solemn concern, " Oh, poor fatherless child- 
ren ! what will become of you ?" 

ix. 4.-- -I must work the works of him that sent 
me, while it is day ; the night conieth, when no man 
can work. 

An eminent divine, suffering under chronic disease, con- 
sulted three physicians, who declared, on being questioned by 
the sick man, that his disease would be folio wed by death in 
a shorter or longer time, according to the manner in which he 
lived ; but they unanimously advised him to give up his of- 
fice, because, in his situation, mental agitation would be fatal 
to him. " If I give myself to repose," inquired the divine, 
" how long, gentlemen, will you guarantee my life?" " Six 
years," answered the doctors. " And if I continue in office?" 
" Three years at most." " Your servant, gentlemen," he re- 
plied ; " I should prefer living two or three years in doing 
-omc good, to living six in idleness." 



JOHN x. 79 

ix. 28 — Thou art his disciple ; but we are Mo- 
ses' disciples. 

One day as Mr Whitefield walked along, a sailor apparent- 
ly a little intoxicated, but it would seem wishing to appear 
more so, frequently stumbled in Mr Whitefield's way, who, 
notwithstanding, took no notice of him ; at length he so 
much interrupted the way as to prevent Mr Whitefield get- 
ting forward. On which he took him by the shoulder, and 
thrust him to one side. " What do you mean ?" said the 
sailor : " don't you know I am one of your disciples ?" " I 
am afraid of that," replied the good man ; "had you been one 
of my Master's, I should have had better hopes of you." 

x. 1. — He that entereth not by the door into the 
sheep-fold, but climbeth up some other way, the 
same is a thief and a robber. 

The celebrated Mr Alexander Henderson, who lived in the 
seventeenth century, was presented by Archbishop Gladstanes 
to the parish of Leuchars in Fife. His settlement was so 
unpopular, that on the day of ordination, the church doors 
were shut and secured by the people, so that the ministers 
who attended, together with the precentor, were obliged to go 
in by the window. Shortly after, having heard of a commu- 
nion in the neighbourhood, at which the excellent Mr Bruce 
was to be an assistant, he went thither secretly ; and fearful of 
attracting notice, placed himself in a dark corner of the church, 
where he might not be readily seen or known. Mr Bruce 
having come into the pulpit, paused for a little, as was his 
usual manner, a circumstance which excited Mr Henderson's 
surprise; but it astonished him much more when he heard him 
read as his text, these very striking words, He that entereth 
not in by the door, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a 
thief and a robber; — which words, by the blessing of God, 
and the effectual working of the Holy Spirit, took such hold 
on him at that very instant, and left such an impression on his 
heart afterwards, that they proved the very first means of his 
conversion unto Christ. Ever after he retained a great affec- 
tion for Mr Bruce, and used to make mention of him with 
marks of the highest respect. 



SO JOHN XI. 

x. 3. — The sheep hear his voice ; and he calleth 
his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 

" I have met with an illustration of a passage of Scripture," 
says Mr Hartley, missionary in Greece, " which interests me. 
Having had my attention directed last night to the words, 
John x. 3, ' The sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own 
sheep by name,' &c. I asked my man if it was usual in Greece 
to give names to the sheep ; he informed me that it was, and 
that the sheep obeyed the shepherd, when he called them by 
their names. This morning 1 had an opportunity of verifying 
the truth of this remark. Passing a flock of sheep, I asked the 
shepherd the same question which I had put to my servant, 
and he gave me the same answer. I then bade him call one 
of his sheep ; he did so, and it instantly left its pasturage and 
its companions, and ran up to the hand of the shepherd with 
signs of pleasure, and with a prompt obedience, which I had 
never before observed in any other animal. It is also true of 
the sheep in this country, that a stranger will they not fol- 
low, but will flee from him ; for they know not the voice of 
strangers. The shepherd told me that many of his sheep are 
still wild; that they had not yet learned their names; but 
that, by teaching, they would all learn them. The others 
which knew their names, he also called tame. How natural 
an application to the state of the human race, does this descrip- 
tion of the sheep admit of ! The good Shepherd laid down his 
life for his sheep; but many of them are still wild; they know 
not his voice. Others have learned to obey his call, and to 
follow him ; and we rejoice to think, that even to those not 
yet in his fold, the words are applicable, — ' Them also I must 
bring; and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one 
fold and one shepherd.' " 

xi. 25. — Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrec- 
tion and the life ; he that believeth in me, though 
he were dead, yet shall he live. 

When a naval officer was inspecting one of the schools in 
the island of Barbadoes, containing two hundred negro boys 
and girls, a sign was made by one of the children (by holding 
up his hand), intimating that he wished to speak to the mas- 
ter. On going up to the child, who was past eight years of 






JOHN XII. 81 

age, the master inquired what was the matter. " Massa," he 
replied, with a look of horror and indignation, which the offi- 
cer said he should never forget, and pointing to a little boy of 
the same age who sat beside him, " Massa, this boy says he 
does not believe in the resurrection." " This is very bad," 
said the master ; "but do you, my little fellow (addressing 
the young informer), believe in the resurrection yourself?" 
" Yes, Massa, I do." " But can you prove it from the Bible ?" 
" Yes, Massa; Jesus says, ' / am the resurrection and the life; 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ;' 
and, in another place, 'Because Hive, ye shall live also. 1 " The 
master added, " Can you prove it from the Old Testament 
also?" " Yes; for Job says, ' I know that my Redeemer 
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, 
and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my 
flesh shall I see God !' And David says in one of his psalms, 
* I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.'" " But 
are you sure these passages are in the Bible ? Here is a Bible, 
point them out to us." The little boy instantly turned up all 
the passages, and read them aloud. 

xi. 57. — Now both the chief priests and the Pha- 
risees had given a commandment, that if any man 
knew where he were, he should show it, that they 
might take him. 

Mr Gilbert "Rule was minister of Alnwick in Northumber- 
land during the time of the persecution. When he was forced 
to leave his charge at Alnwick, he went to Berwick, where he 
practised surgery for the support of his family. His enemies 
continued their persecutions. They engaged some of the baser 
sort to way-lay him. That he might be brought into this 
snare, a messenger was dispatched at midnight to request him 
to visit a person in the country whom he should represent as 
very ill. The good man expressed so much sympathy for the 
sick person, and showed such readiness to run to his relief, 
though at midnight, that the messenger's heart relented (for 
he was privy to the plot), and was so filled with remorse, that 
he discovered the whole affair to Mr Rule, which happily pre- 
vented his meeting a premature death. 

xii. 35. — Yet a little while is the light with you : 



^2 JOHN XIII. 

walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come 
upon you. 

From the notion which some entertained of St Columba being 
able to foretell future events, a man asked him one day, how 
long he had to live. " If your curiosity on that head could be 
satisfied," said the saint, *' it could be of no use to you. But 
it is only God, who appoints the days of man, that knows when 
they are to terminate. Our business is to do our duty, not to 
pry into our destiny. God in mercy hath concealed from man 
the knowledge of his end. If he knew it was near, he would be 
disqualified for the duties of life ; and if he knew it were dis- 
tant, be would delay his preparation. You should therefore be 
satisfied with knowing that it is certain; and the safest way is 
to believe that it may be also near, and to make no delay in 
getting ready, lest it overtake you unprepared." 

xii. 43. — They loved the praise of men. 

" I once knew," says Mr Abbot, " a little boy of unusually 
bright and animated countenance. Every one who entered the 
house noticed the child, and spoke of his beauty. One day a 
gentleman called upon business, and being engaged in conver- 
sation, did not pay that attention to the child to which he was 
accustomed, and which he now began to expect as his due. 
The vain little fellow made many efforts to attract notice, but 
not succeeding, he at last placed himself full in front of the 
gentleman, and asked, ' Why don't vou see how beautiful I 
be?'" 

xiii. 17 — If ye know these things, happy are ye 
if ye do them. 

Mr Ellis having been engaged in conversation on religious 
subjects with the governor of Owhyhee, such as the resurrec- 
tion of the body, &c. was asked by him, how he knew these 
things. " I asked for his Bible," says Mr E. " and translated 
the passages which inculcate the doctrine of the resurrection, 
&c. and told him it was from that book we obtained all our 
knowledge of these things, and that it was the contents of that 
book which we had come to teach the people of Owhyhee. He 
then asked if all the people in our native countries were ac- 
quainted with the Bible. I answered, that from the abundant 



JOHN XIV. 83 

mean? of instruction there, the greater portion of the people 
had either read the book, or had, in some other way, become 
acquainted with its principal contents. He then said, How is 
it that such numbers of them swear, get intoxicated, and do 
many things prohibited in this book? He was told, that there 
was a vast difference between knowing the word of God, and 
obeying it; and that it was most likely those persons knew 
their conduct was displeasing to God, yet persisted in it, be- 
cause most agreeable to their corrupt inclinations." 

xiii. 19 — Now I tell you before it come, that, 
when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am 

he. 

Bishop Newton, in the dedication of his Work on the Pro- 
phecies, says, " What first suggested the design, were some 
conversations formerly with a great general (Marshal Wade), 
who had for many years the chief command in the army, and 
was a man of good understanding, and of some reading, but 
unhappily had no great regard for revealed religion or the 
clergy. When the prophecies were urged as a proof of reve- 
lation, he constantly derided the notion, asserted that there 
was no such thing, and that the prophecies, which were pre- 
tended, were written after the events. It was immediately re- 
plied, that though such a thing might with less scruple and 
more confidence be affirmed of some prophecies fulfilled long 
ago, yet it could never be proved of any : the contrary might 
be proved almost to a demonstration ; but it could not be so 
much as affirmed of several prophecies without manifest absur- 
dity ; for there were several prophecies in Scripture which were 
not fulfilled till these later ages, are fulfilling even now, and 
consequently could not be framed after the events, but unde- 
niably were written and published many ages before. He was 
startled at this, and said he must acknowledge, that if this point 
could be proved to satisfaction, there would be no argument 
against such a plain matter of fact ; it would certainly con- 
vince him, and he believed would be the readiest way to con- 
vince every reasonable man, of the truth of revelation." 

xiv. 26 — The Holy Ghost — shall teach you all 
things, and bring all things to your remembrance. 
Mr Newton, telling in company, one day, how much his me- 



84 



JOHN XV. 



mory was decayed, " There/' said he, " last Wednesday, after 
dinner, I asked Mrs C what T had been about that fore- 
noon, for I could not recollect. Why, said she, you have been 
preaching- at St Mary's. Yet it is wonderful, when I am in 
the pulpit, I can recollect any passage of Scripture I want to 
introduce into my sermon from Genesis to Revelation." 

xiv. 28. — If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, be- 
cause I said, I go unto the Father ; for my Father 
is greater than I. 

A lovely young" lady, in her near approach to dissolution, 
observing her father overcome with grief, thus pertinently re- 
monstrated with him : " Why, Sir, so much grief? Had an 
offer of marriage been made me by one who in himself was all 
you could wish, and whose situation in life was far superior to 
mine, but whose residence must be in a remote part of the 
kingdom, perhaps the consideration of advantage and promo- 
tion to me would have reconciled you to my removal, though 
it would have been little other than a separation for life. But 
I am now about to be promoted incomparably beyond any 
thing that could have occurred in this world. Then why this 
reluctance? Our next meeting will be in circumstances of 
high improvement, joyful and perpetual." 

xv. 2. — Every branch that beareth fruit, he purg- 
eth it, that it may bring forth more fruit 

" I have heard Mr Cecil mention, with much feeling," says 
his biographer, " many deep and secret conflicts of mind, with 
which he was exercised, while at college ; added to which, he 
had to meet many insults, which profligate men offer to piety. 
Under these impressions, he was one day walking in the physic 
gardens, where he observed a very fine pomegranate tree, cut 
almost through the stems near the root. On asking the gar- 
dener the reason of this, ' Sir,' said he, ' this tree used to 
shoot so strong, that it bore nothing but leaves, I was there- 
fore obliged to cut it in this manner ; and, when it was almost 
cut through, then it began to bear plenty of fruit.' The gar- 
dener's explanation of this act, conveyed a striking illustration 
to Mr Cecil's mind, and he went back to his room comforted 
and instructed bv this imasre." 



JOHN XVI. 85 

xv. 19 — Because ye are not of the world, but I 
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world 
hateth you. 

" I happened once,'" says Dr Cotton Mather, " to be pre- 
sent in the room where a dying man could not leave the world 
until he lamented to a minister (whom he had sent for on this 
account), the unjust calumnies and injuries which he had often 
cast upon him. The minister asked the poor penitent what 
was the occasion of this abusive conduct ; whether he had been 
imposed upon by any false report. The man made this answer, 
* No, Sir, it was merely this ; I thought you were a good 
man, and that you did much good in the world, and therefore 
I hated you. Is it possible, is it possible,' he added, 'for such 
a wretch to find pardon?"' 

xvi. 2. — The time cometh, that whosoever killeth 
you will think that he doeth God service. 

One of the most horrid circumstances attending the dread- 
ful massacre of the protestants under Charles IX. of France 
was, that when the news of this event reached Rome, Pope 
Gregory XIII. instituted the most solemn rejoicing, giving 
thanks to Almighty God for this glorious victory over the 
heretics ! ! 

xvi. 33. — In the world ye shall have tribulation. 

Some time ago, as a gentleman was passing over one of the 
extensive downs in the west of England, about mid-day, where 
a large flock of sheep was feeding, and observing the shepherd 
sitting by the road side, preparing to eat his dinner, he stopped 
his horse, and entered into conversation with him to this effect. 
" Well, shepherd, you look cheerful and contented, and I dare 
say, have very few cares to vex you. I, who am a man of 
pretty large property, cannot but look at such men as you with 
a kind of envy." " Why, Sir," replied the shepherd, " 'tis true 
I have not troubles like yours ; ana I could do well enough, 
was it not for that black ewe that you see yonder amongst my 
flock. I have often begged my master to kill, or sell her ; but 
he won't, though she is the plague of my life ; for no sooner 
do I sit down to look at my book, or take up my wallet to get 
my dinner, but away she sets off over the down, and the rest 



86 JOHN XVIII. 

follow her ; so that I have many a weary step after them : 
There you see she's off, and they are all after her ! ' — " Ah, 
friend," said the gentleman to the shepherd before he started, 
" I see every man has a black ewe in his flock to plague him, 
as well as I !" — The reader can make the application. 

xvii. 17 — Sanctify them through thy truth; thy 
word is truth. 

" To preach practical sermons, as they are called," says 
Bishop Home, " i. e. sermons upon virtues and vices, without 
inculcating those great Scripture truths of redemption, grace, 
&c, which alone can incite and enable us to forsake sin and 
follow after righteousness, what is it but to put together the 
wheels, and set the hands of a watch, forgetting the spring, 
which is to make them all go ? " 

xvii. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou 

hast given me, be with me where I am ; that they 
may behold my glory which thou hast given me. 

The late Rev. Alexander Fisher of Dunfermline, an excel- 
lent young minister, in the afternoon of the day on which he 
died, inquired what the hour was, and on being informed, said, 
" What would you think if I were in heaven to-night?" It 
was answered, " Then you will be with your Saviour, and see 
him face to face." His pale emaciated countenance seemed to 
beam with delight, and his faultering lips uttered, " Glory, 
glory, glory ! " 

xviii. 38.— Pilate saith unto him, What is truth ? 

Father Fulgentio, the friend and biographer of the cele- 
brated Paul Sarpi, both of them secret friends to the progress 
of religious reformation, was once preaching upon Pilate's 
question, " What is truth ?" He told the audience, that he 
had at last, after many searches, found it out; and holding 
forth a New Testament, said, " Here it is, my friends," but 
added, sorrowfully, as he returned it to his pocket, " It is a 
sealed book I " It has been since the glory of the Reformation 
to break the seal which priestcraft had imposed upon it, and 
to lay its blessed treasures open to the universal participation 
of mankind. 






JOHN XIX. 



87 



xviii. 40 — Then cried they all again, saying, Not 
this man, but Barabbas. 

Tremellius was a Jew, from whose heart the veil had been 
taken away, and who had been led by the Holy Spirit to ac 
knowledge Jesus as the Messiah, and the Son of God. — The 
Jews who had condemned our Saviour, had said, " Not this 
man, but Barabbas ;" Tremellius, when near his end, glory- 
ing in Christ alone, and renouncing whatever came in compe- 
tition with him, used very different words, " Not Barabbas, 
but Jesus." 

xix. 6. — When the chief priests therefore and offi- 
cers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, 
crucify him. 

It is said of Dr Robertson, the celebrated historian, that 
preaching once in the forenoon, he affirmed in the words of the 
ancient heathen, — " That if perfect virtue were to descend to 
the earth, clothed in a human form, all the world would fall 
prostrate and worship her." In the afternoon, Dr Erskine, his 
colleague, remarked, on the contrary, " That perfect virtue, 
in the human nature of the Saviour of mankind, had indeed 
appeared on the earth ; but, instead of being universally wor- 
shipped, the general cry of his countrymen was, " Crucify him, 
crucify him ! " 

xix. 26, 27. — He saith unto his mother, Woman, 
behold thy son ! Then saith he to the disciple, Be- 
hold thy mother ! And from that hour that disciple 
took her unto his own home. 

A pious young man, who was desirous of devoting himself 
to the work of the ministry among the heathen, and had been 
recommended with that view to the committee of the London 
Missionary Society, on undergoing the usual examination, 
stated that he had one difficulty ; he had an aged mother en- 
tirely dependant upon an elder brother and himself for mainte- 
nance ; and in case of that brother's death he should wish to be 
at liberty to return to this country, if his mother were still 
living, to contribute to her support. Scarcely had he made 
this ingenuous statement, when a harsh voice exclaimed, " If 
you love your mother more than the Lord Jesus Christ, you 



88 JOHN XX. 

will not do for us." Abashed and confounded, the young man 
was silent. Some murmurs escaped the committee ; and he 
was directed to retire while his proposal was taken into consi- 
deration. On his being again sent for, the venerable chair- 
man, Dr Waugh, in tones of unaffected kindness, and with a 
patriarchal benignity of mien, acquainted him that the com- 
mittee did not feel themselves authorised to accept of his ser- 
vices on a condition involving uncertainty as to the term ; but 
immediately added, — " We think none the worse of you, my 
good lad, for your dutiful regard for your aged parent. You 
are but acting in conformity to the example of Him whose gos- 
pel you wished to proclaim among the heathen, who, as he hung 
upon the cross in dying agonies, beholding his mother and the 
beloved disciple standing by, said to the one, * Woman, behold 
thy son!' and to John, ' Behold thy mother!' My good lad, 
we think none the worse of you." 

xx. 17. — I ascend unto my Father, and your Fa- 
ther ; and to my God, and your God. 

The Rev. Joseph Alleine, being asked by a friend, how he 
could be contented to be so long under such weakness as he 
then suffered, he answered, " What ! is God my Father ; Je- 
sus Christ my Saviour ; and the Spirit my sweet friend, my 
comforter, and sanctifier ; and heaven my inheritance ; and 
shall I not be content without limbs and health? Through 
grace I am fully satisfied with my Father's pleasure." To ano- 
ther who proposed a similar question, he said, " I have chosen 
God, and he is become mine, and I know with whom I have 
trusted myself; which is enough. He is an unreasonable 
wretch that cannot be content with God, though he had no- 
thing else. My interest in God is all my joy." 

xx. 31 These are written, that ye might believe 

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that 
believing, ye might have life through his name. 

A man who had been very much connected with infidels was 
taken dangerously ill ; and feeling that he could not recover, 
became alarmed for the safety of his soul. He found that his 
infidel principles gave him no comfort. He began, for the first 
time, to examine into the Christian religion. He embraced it, 
and found it to be the power of God to salvation, enabling 



JOHN XXI. 89 

him to triumph over the fear of death. In the mean time his 
infidel friends hearing of his sickness, and that he was not ex- 
pected to recover, showed a degree of feeling and integrity, 
which, it is hoped, may prove the first happy step to their own 
conversion. They were not aware that their dying friend had 
become a Christian. They called to see him ; and actually 
told him that they came on purpose to advise him now to em- 
brace Christianity ; because, said they, if it be false, it can do 
you no harm ; but if it should prove true, you will be a great 
gainer. 

■ 

xxi. 16. — Feed my sheep. 

Mr Newton once paid a visit to a minister who affected great 
accuracy in his discourses, and who, on that Sabbath day, had 
occupied nearly an hour in insisting on several laboured and 
nice distinctions made in his subject. As he had a high esti- 
mation of Mr Newton's judgment, he inquired of him, as they 
walked home, whether he thought the distinctions just now in- 
sisted on were full and judicious? Mr N. said he thought 
them not full, as a very important one had been omitted. 
" What can that be?" said the minister, " for I have taken 
more than ordinary care to enumerate them fully." " I think 
not," replied Mr N. " for when many of your congregation had 
travelled several miles for a meal, I think you should not have 
forgotten the important distinction which must ever exist be- 
tween meat and BONES." 

Mr Christopher Richardson, minister of Kirk Heaton, in 
Yorkshire, was much followed : a neighbouring minister, whose 
parishioners used to go to hear him, complaining once to him 
that he drew away his flock, Mr Richardson answered, " Feed 
them better, and they will not stray." 

xxi. 19. — This spake he, signifying by what death 
he should glorify God. 

The Rev. Dr Simpson was for many years tutor in the col- 
lege at Hoxton, and while he stood very low in his own esteem, 
he ranked high in that of others. After a long life spent in 
the service of Christ, he approached his end with holy joy. He 
spoke with disapprobation of a phrase often used by some good 
people, " venturing on Christ/' " When I consider," said 
he, " the infinite dignity and all-sufficiency of Christ, I am 



90 ACTS I. 

ashamed to talk of venturing on him. Ob ! had I ten thous- 
and souls, I would, at this moment, cast them ail into his hands 
with the utmost confidence." A few hours before his dissolu- 
tion, he addressed himself to the last enemy, in a strain like 
that of the apostle, when he exclaimed, " 6 death ! where is 
thy sting ? Displaying his characteristic fervour, as though 
he saw the tyrant approaching, he said, " What art thou ? I 
am not afraid of thee. Thou art a vanquished enemy through 
the blood of the cross." 



ACTS. 

Chap. i. 18 — This man purchased a field with 
the reward of iniquity ; and falling headlong, he 
burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed 
out. 

The Duke of Buckingham, having by an unfortunate acci- 
dent lost the army which he had raised against the usurper 
Richard II. , was forced to flee for his life without page or at- 
tendant ; at last he took refuge in the house of Humphrey 
Bannister at Shrewsbury, who, being one of his servants, and 
having been formerly raised by him from a low condition, 
would, he trusted, be ready to afford him every possible pro- 
tection. Bannister, however, upon the king's proclamation, 
promising £1000 reward to him that should apprehend the 
duke, betrayed his master to John Merton, high sheriff of 
Shropshire, who sent him under a strong guard to Salisbury, 
where the king then was, by whom he was condemned to be 
beheaded. But divine vengeance pursued the traitor and his 
family ; for, on demanding the £]000 that was the price of bis 
master's blood, King Richard refused to pay it, saying, " He 
that would be false to so good a master, ought not to be en- 
couraged. B He was afterwards hanged for manslaughter ; his 
eldest son soon fell into a state of derangement, and died in a 
hogsty ; his second became deformed and lame ; his third son 
was drowned in a small pool of water, and the rest of his fa- 
mily perished miserably. 



ACTS II. 91 

i. 22. — One must be ordained to be a witness with 
us of his resurrection. 

The Rev. Samuel Lavington, of Bideford, at the ordination 
of the Rev. Mr Seward, introduced his discourse by using the 
following language : — " What a multitude is here assembled 
to see an ordination ! Many of you were perhaps never pre- 
sent at such a solemnity before ; and I should be very sorry if, 
when the assembly breaks up, you should go away with a visi- 
ble disappointment, and say, " Is that all ?' Why, ' what came 
ye out to see ?' Did you expect to see a number of apostles 
met together, to lay their hands upon the head of a young 
minister, and to communicate to him some miraculous powers ? 
Alas ! we have not them ourselves. If we had, you should not 
take all this trouble for nothing. If we had, you should have 
something by which to remember an ordination as long as you 
live. If the Holy Ghost were at our command, most gladly 
would we lay our hands upon you all ; and this assembly 
should be like that mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles : 
1 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on 
all them which heard the word.' But what we cannot com- 
mand, we may humbly and earnestly supplicate. Shall I then 
beg the favour of you, to join with me in this short ejaculation 
to the God of all grace ? — O God the Lord, to whom belong 
the issues from death, pour out tby Spirit upon all in this 
assembly ; and command on every one of us a blessing out of 
Zion, even life for evermore. Amen." The congregation, 
abstracted for the moment from all other objects, forgot the 
order of worship, rose from their seats, joined in the collect, 
and then resumed their places with the greatest solemnity. 

ii. 4. — They began to speak with other tongues, 
as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

The Rev. Pliny Fisk, in a letter to the Society of Inquiry 
respecting Missions at Andover, soon after his arrival at 
Smyrna, writes — " I beg leave to submit to you one remark 
which seems to me important, respecting the qualification of a 
missionary. It is this ; more knowledge of languages should 
be acquired. I say, more knowledge of languages, rather than 
a knowledge oi more languages. To have such an acquaintance 
with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, as will enable you not only 
to read them with familiarity, but to speak and write them, 



92 ACTS III. 

would be of very great utility in this country, and I presume, in 
any part of Asia, probably in any part of the world. And let me 
add, that it would be well if the wife of a missonary were to 
know Italian, French, and Latin." 

ii. 17. — Your young men shall see visions., and 

your old men shall dream dreams. 

Although little or no attention is to be paid to dreams in 
general, it cannot be denied that they are sometimes remark- 
able, and followed by striking effects. The following is an 
instance of this kind, in the case of a lame boy who had been 

very wicked and undutiful Adjoining the room where he 

lay, was a passage. He dreamed that this was on fire, and 
thought it was hell. He imagined that he saw many devils 
flying about in the flames, and that they were coming to take 
him away. Awaking in great terror, he attempted to alarm 
his mother ; and put out his hand to her, but in vain. Though 
he said nothing of his dream for several months, a great alter- 
ation had been remarked in his temper. He was very desirous 
that his mother should read the Scriptures to him, and some 
hymn-books. He delighted in reading, as he could, the Scrip- 
ture texts on the reward tickets, which his brothers and sisters 
obtained at a Sabbath School. So great was the pleasure he 
derived from the word of God, that he would say in an even- 
ing " I could keep awake all night to hear my mother read 
the Bible." — His mother sitting by his bed-side, he said to her, 
" Mother though I am in so much pain, I am happy;" she 
replied, "What makes you happy, my dear?" "Because," 
said he, I am not afraid to die." " My dear, do you know that 
death has a sting?" " Yes," he replied, " but Christ has 
taken it away." — A little before his departure, he was heard 
saying, " He will never, never forsake me." Soon after, he 
looked up, and exclaimed, " Jesus and his angels ! Hallelujah ! 
Hallelujah ! Praise ye the Lord ! " 

iii. 6. — Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I 
none ; but such as I have give I thee : In the name 
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. 

Thomas Aquinas, surnamed the Angelical Doctor, who was 
highly esteemed by Pope Innocent IV. going one day into the 
Pope's chamber, where they were reckoning large sums of 



ACTS III. 93 

money, the Pope, addressing himself to Aquinas, said, " You 
see the Church is no longer in an age in which she can say, 
' Silver and gold have I none.'" " It is true, holy father," 
replied the Angelical Doctor, " nor can she now say to the 
lame man, Rise and walk." 

iii. 15 — And killed the Prince of life, whom God 

hath raised from the dead ; whereof ye are witnesses. 

A Jew, in a letter to one of the same nation, writes : — 
" One day I overheard your worthy gardener, William, tell 
another christian servant, that the sermon had been that morn- 
ing on these words, " Ye have killed the Prince of life." Fears 
what would become of me if that were true, so agitated me 
the whole night, that, after a short and suddenly interrupted 
sleep, I rose early to walk in your garden ; there I soon met 
William, who, with honest and undissembled goodness, asked 
me, * What vexes you ? Often when you imagined you was 
not seen, I have observed you in the garden sighing, wringing 
your hands, and lifting up your eyes to heaven. Are you 
unhappy ? ', 'I am as wretched as possible ! ' * How, sir ? 
you are a man of fortune, and being unmarried, have no kind 
of family distress ! ' ' Yes, but I am a Jew ! ' * Well, you are 
not at all the worse on that account. Thousands of your na- 
tion live merrily!' ' But if it be true what your minister 
preached yesterday ! ' — William, leaping back some paces, 
asked, full of surprise, ' How know you what my minister 
preached ? ' * I heard you tell it yesterday to John.' ' Well, 
but with the same breath, Peter told his countrymen, Now, 
brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it.' * Be it so, 
William ; but I, who see strong proofs of your religion around 
me, and even in my own wandering and depressed nation, am 
less excusable.' ' Yet the Prince of life prayed for his mur- 
derers, and commanded that to them first, remission of sins 
should be preached. You are of the nation beloved for the 
Fathers' sake.' He would have said more ; when seeing you, 
he broke off, and whispered in my ear, * My Jesus loves even 
his murderers.' Soon after, as I was stepping into a Schute, 
I stumbled, and probably should have been drowned, had not 
the minister of the village, whom I had the day before, against 
my conscience, joined you in ridiculing, caught hold of me 
with his hand. ' Honest man,' said I, * what virtue is this, 
to rescue from death one of a nation which killed your Prince 
of life ! ' He kindly replied, ' My Master loves even his mur- 



94 ACTS V. 

derers." I cannot express what I felt when I heard these 
words repeated, and what anxiety has filled my mind ever 
since." 

iv. 12 — Neither is there salvation in any other. 

" I have not time to add more,"' says Cow per the poet, in 
a letter, " except just to add, that if I am ever enabled to look 
forward to death with comfort, which I thank God is sometimes 
the case with me, I do not take my view of it from the top of 
my own works and deservings, though God is witness that the 
labour of my life is to keep a conscience void of offence to- 
wards him. Death is always formidable to me, but when I see 
him disarmed of his sting, by having sheathed it in the body 
of Christ Jesus.'' 



iv. 19? 20. — Whether it be right in the sight of 

God to hearken unto you more than unto God, 

judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things 

which we have seen and heard. 

When the Assembly met at Edinburgh, 1582, Andrew 
Melville inveighed against the absolute authority which was 
making its way into the church, whereby he said they intended 
to pull the crown from Christ's head, and wrest the sceptre out 
of his hand ; and when several articles of the same tenor with 
his speech, were presented by the commission of the Assembly 
to the King and Council, craving redress, the Earl of Arran 
cried out, " Is there any here that dare subscribe these 
articles ? " Upon which Melville went forward and said, 
" We dare, and will render our lives in the cause ; " and then 
took up the pen and subscribed. 

v. 10. — Then she fell down straightway at his feet, 
and yielded up the ghost. 

Some years ago, a poor woman in the work-house at Mil- 
burn Port, being charged with having stolen some trivial arti- 
cle, which was a-missing, wished God might strike her dumb, 
blind, and dead, if she knew any thing of it. About six o'clock 
she ate her supper as well as usual — soon after her speech 
faultered, her eyes closed, and before seven she was a breath- 
less corpse, without any apparent cause. 






ACTS VI. 95 

v. 29. — Peter and the other apostles answered and 
said, We ought to obey God rather than men. 

Philip, Bishop of Heraclea, in the beginning of the fourth 
century, was dragged by the feet through the streets, severely 
scourged, and then brought again to the governor, who charged 
him with obstinate rashness, in continuing disobedient to the 
imperial decrees; but he boldly replied, " My present beha- 
viour is not the effect of rashness, but proceeds from my love 
and fear of God, who made the world, and who will judge the 
living and the dead, whose commands I dare not transgress. 
I have hitherto done my duty to the emperors, and am always 
ready to comply with their just orders, according to the doc- 
trine of our Lord Christ, who bids us give both to Caesar and 
to God their due; but I am obliged to prefer heaven to earth, 
and to obey God rather than man." The governor, on hear- 
ing this speech, immediately passed sentence on him to be 
burnt, which was executed accordingly, and the martyr ex- 
pired, singing praises to God in the midst of the flames. 

vi. 4 — We will give ourselves continually to 
prayer, and to the ministry of the word. 

" Nothing seems important to me," says Mr Cecil, " but so 
far as it is connected with religion. The end — the cui bono ? 
enters into my view of every thing. Even the highest acts of 
the intellect become criminal trifling, when they occupy much 
of the time of a moral creature, and especially of a minister. 
If the mind cannot feel and treat mathematics and music, and 
all such things, as trifles, it has been seduced and enslaved. 
Brainerd, and Grimshaw, and Fletcher, were men. Most of 
us are dwarfs." 

vi. 9. — There arose certain of the synagogue which 
is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cy- 
renians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia 
and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. 

Mr Grimshaw was once in company with a nobleman, who 
unhappily employed his talents in the service of infidelity. He 
had some time before been engaged in a long dispute with two 
eminent divines, in which, as usual in such cases, the victory 



96 ACTS VII. 

was claimed by both sides. Meeting afterwards witb Mr G. 
he wished to draw him likewise into a dispute, but he declined 
it nearly in these words: " My lord, if you needed informa- 
tion, I would gladly do my utmost to assist you ; but the fault 
is not in your head, but in your heart, which can only be 
reached by a divine power ; I shall pray for you, but I cannot 
dispute with you." His lordship, far from being offended, 
treated him with particular respect, and declared afterwards, 
that he was more pleased and more struck by the freedom, 
firmness, and simplicity of his answer, than by any thing he 
heard on the side of his opponents. 

vii. 24. — And seeing one of them suffer wrong, 
he defended him, and avenged him that was op- 
pressed, and smote the Egyptian. 

The emperor Kaung-hi, one of the most celebrated of the 
Chinese monarchs, in one of his visits to the provinces, having 
retired a little way from his attendants, perceived an old man 
weeping bitterly : " What do you weep for ?" said the empe- 
ror. " My lord," replied the old man, who did not know the 
person of his sovereign, " 1 had only one son, in whom all my 
hopes were centered, and who might have become the support 
of my family ; a Tartar mandarin has torn him from me. I 
am now deprived of every assistance, and know not where to 
seek relief; for how can a feeble old man like me obtain jus- 
tice against a powerful man !" " Your son will be restored," 
said the emperor, without making himself known. " Conduct 
me to the house of the mandarin who has been guilty of this 
act of violence." The old man obeyed, and after having tra- 
velled two hours, they arrived at the mandarin's house, who 
little expected such a visit. The emperor immediately con- 
demned him to lose his head; and this sentence was executed 
upon the spot. The emperor, then, turning towards the old 
man, with a grave tone addressed him : " I appoint you to 
the office of the criminal whom I have now put to death ; be 
careful to discharge the duties of it with more moderation than 
your predecessor, lest yourself become an example to others." 

vii. 60. — He kneeled down, and cried with a loud 
voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. 

J. W. a pious young man, was employed in a large manu- 



ACTS VIII. y/ 

factory, the overseer of which took every opportunity of ex- 
posing him to the ridicule of his companions, on account of his 
religion, and because he refused to join in their drinking par- 
ties and Sabbath frolics. As they lived in the same house, 
the overseer one day heard him at prayer, and resolved to lis- 
ten; when, to his great surprise, he found himself the subject 
of the young man's supplications, who was spreading his case 
of infidelity and hardness of heart before God, and supplicating 
earnestly for him, that God would give him repentance unto 
salvation, and create in him a new heart, and put a right spi- 
rit within him. The man was deeply penetrated with what 
he heard. He had never entertained an idea of the power or 
nature of true prayer : he wondered at the eloquence and fer- 
vour with which his own unhappy case had been pleaded be- 
fore God. 1 never, said he to himself, thus prayed to God 
for myself. The impression dwelt upon his mind. The next 
day he took John aside ; " I wish," said he, *' John, you would 
preach to me a little." John, who only thought his grave face 
was meant to turn the subject into ridicule, said, " Mr M. you 
know I am no preacher. I don't pretend to it." " Nay," 
said Mr M., " I don't know how you can preach to-day; 
but I heard you yesterday make such a description of my 
state, as convinces me you can do it very well; and I shall 
be much obliged to you to repeat it." " Oh," says John, " it 
is true I was at prayer, and did, indeed, heartily pray for you." 
il Very well," said he, " pray do it again; for I never heard 
any thing in my life which so deeply affected me." John did 
not wait for much entreaty : They knelt down together, and 
cried to the God of all grace, and found acceptance. From 
that day they were bosom friends ; went to the same place of 
worship, and frequently bowed their knees together, and joined 
in praise and thanksgiving. Their conversation adorned their 
profession ; and the mocker became a confessor of the grace 
which he had so often abused and turned into ridicule." 

viii. 1 There was a great persecution against 

the church which was at Jerusalem ; and they were 

all scattered abroad throughout the region of Judea 

and Samaria, except the apostles. 

During the reign of the bigoted and persecuting Mary of 
England, many of the Protestants sought refuge in Germany, 
where, by the good providence of God, they were comfortably 



98 ACTS IX. 

provided for till the death of the Queen. " It is no less plea- 
sant to consider, says Fuller, " than admirable to conceive, 
how the exiles subsisted so long, and so far from their native 
country, in so comfortable a condition. Especially, seeing 
Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, solemnly vowed, so to stop 
the sending of all supplies to them, that, for very hunger, they 
should eat their own nails, and then feed on their fingers ends, 
But threatened folks live long ; and, before these banished men 
were brought to that short bill of fare, the bishop was eaten up 
of worms himself.'' 

viii. 20 — Peter said unto him, Thy money perish 

with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of 

God may be purchased with money. 

Pope Julius II. began the building of the magnificent church 
at Rome, but left it unfinished. His successor, Leo X. was 
desirous to complete this superb edifice, but being involved in 
debt, and finding the apostolic treasury exhausted, he had re- 
course to the selling of indulgences, a gainful traffic, for the 
procuring of a sufficient sum of money. Accordingly, in 1517, 
he published general indulgences throughout all Europe, to 
such as would contribute to the building of St Peter's. The 
sum of ten shillings was sufficient to purchase the pardon of 
sins, and the ransom of a soul from purgatory ! 

ix. 8. — Saul arose from the earth ; and when his 

eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led 

him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 

Mr Ellis, when speaking of the conversion of an old blind 
priest of the fisherman's temple at Parea, says: — " When the 
majority of the inhabitants embraced Christianity, he declared 
he would not abandon the idols, nor unite in the worship of the 
God of the Christians j and in order to show his determination, 
on the Sabbath day, when the people went to the chapel, he 
went to work in, I think, a part of the ground belonging to the 
temple : while thus engaged in mending a fence, a bough struck 
his eyes, and not only inflicted great pain, but deprived him of 
his sight, and, like Elymas, he was obliged to be led home. 
This circumstance deeply affected his mind ; he became a firm 
believer in the true God, maintained an upright and resigned 
frame of mind, and when baptized, adopted the name of Paul, 
from the similarity in the means employed in humbling and 



ACTS X. 99 

converting him, and those used to bring the apostle to a sense 
of the power and mercy of the Saviour." 

ix. 23, 24.- — The Jews took counsel to kill him. 
But their laying await was known of Saul : and they 
watched the gates day and night to kill him. 

Mr Bradbury possessed an ardent zeal in the cause of civil 
and religious liberty, and had many admirers. This exposed 
him to the hatred of the popish faction, whose designs in re- 
spect of the Jacobitish succession he had often exposed. They 
once employed a person to take away his life. To make him- 
self fully acquainted with Mr Bradbury's person, the man fre- 
quently attended at places of worship where he preached, placed 
himself in front of the gallery, with his countenance stedfastly 
fixed on the preacher. It was scarcely possible, in such cir- 
cumstances, wholly to avoid listening to what was said. Mr 
Bradbury's forcible way of presenting divine truth awakened 
the man's attention ; the truth entered his understanding, and 
became the means of changing his heart. He came to the 
preacher with trembling and confusion, told his affecting tale, 
gave evidence of his conversion, became a member of Mr 
Bradbury's church, and was, to his death, an ornament to the 
gospel which he professed. 

x. 7. — A devout soldier of them that waited on 
him continually. 

During the late unhappy commotions in Ireland, a private 
soldier in the army of Lord Cornwallis was daily observed to 
be absent from his quarters, and from the company of his fel- 
low soldiers. He began to be suspected of withdrawing him- 
self for the purpose of holding intercourse with the rebels, and 
on this suspicion, probably increased by the malice of his wicked 
comrades, he was tried by a court martial, and condemned to 
die. The marquis, hearing of this, wished to examine the 
minutes of the trial ; and, not being satisfied, sent for the man 
to converse with him. Upon being interrogated, the prisoner 
solemnly disavowed every treasonable practice or intention, 
declared his sincere attachment to his sovereign, and his readi- 
ness to live and die in his service; he affirmed, that the real 
cause of his frequent absence was, that he might obtain a place 
of retirement for the purpose of private prayer, for which his 



100 ACTS XI. 

lordship knew he had no opportunity among his profane com- 
rades, who had become his enemies merely on account of his 
profession of religion. He said he had made this defence on his 
trial, but the officers thought it so improbable, that they paid 
no attention to it. The marquis, in order to satisfy himself as 
to the truth of his defence, observed, that if so, he must have 
acquired considerable aptness in this exercise. The poor man 
replied, that, as to ability, he had nothing to boast of. The 
marquis then insisted on his kneeling down, and praying aloud 
before him ; which he did, and poured forth his soul before 
God with such copiousness, fluency, and ardour, that the mar- 
quis took him by the hand, and said, he was satistied that no 
man could pray in that manner who did not live in the habit 
of intercourse with his God. He not only revoked the sentence, 
but received him into his peculiar favour, placing him among 
his personal attendants, and in the way to promotion. 

x. 42 — He was ordained of God to be the Judge 
of quick and dead. 

Adalbert, who lived in the tenth century, was appointed 
Archbishop of Prague. This preferment seemed to give him 
so little satisfaction, that he was never seen to smile afterwards; 
and on being asked the reason, he replied, " It is an easy thing 
to wear a mitre and a cross, but an awful thing to give an ac- 
count of a bishopric before the Judge of quick and dead." 

xi. 6 — Peter rehearsed the matter from the be- 
ginning ; and expounded it by order unto them. 

" I don't know," said a gentleman to the late Rev. Andrew 
Fuller, " how it is that I can remember your sermons better 
than those of any other minister, but such is the fact." " I 
cannot tell," replied Mr Fuller, " unless it be owing to simpli- 
city of arrangement ; I pay particular attention to this part of 
composition, always placing things together that are related to 
each other, and that naturally follow each other in succession. 
For instance," added he, " suppose I were to say to my servant, 
' Betty, you must go and buy some butter, and starch, and 
cream, and soap, and tea, and blue, and sugar, and cakes,' 
Betty would be very apt to say, ' Master ! I shall never be 
able to remember all these.' But suppose I were to say, 
* Betty, you know your mistress is going to have some friends 



ACTS XII. 101 

to tea to-morrow, and that you are going to wash the day fol- 
lowing; and that for the tea party, you will want tea, and sugar, 
and cream, and cakes, and butter ; and for the washing you 
will want soap, and starch, and blue;' Betty would instantly 
reply, * Yes, master, I can now remember them all very well.' ' 

xi. 18 Then hath God also to the Gentiles grant- 
ed repentance unto life. 

In one of the counties in England, which is famous for its 
mines, lived a collier, who had spent a great portion of his life 
in a careless and ungodly manner. Not accustomed to attend 
the preaching of the gospel, he was grossly ignorant of divine 
things. From his habits of vice, and aversion to the worship 
of God, his case appeared very hopeless. God was pleased, 
however, to accomplish his conversion to himself in a way ex- 
ceedingly simple, yet truly marvellous. Though regardless of 
concern for his own spiritual welfare, he was induced to permit 
the attendance of his children at a Sabbath school. It pleased 
God to visit one of the daughters of this wicked father with a 
mortal sickness ; but before her death, she was rendered in- 
strumental in exciting the attention of her parent to the con- 
cerns of his soul. " Father," enquired the dying child, " can 
you spell repentance ? " This artless question, through the 
blessing of God, was effectual to awaken concern. " Spell 
repentance," repeated the astonished father, " what is repen- 
tance ? " Thus he became desirous of knowing, and ultimately 
was taught, its sacred meaning. He also discovered that he 
needed repentance, that he was a guilty sinner, deserving God's 
everlasting wrath. Repentance unto life was granted him, 
and he was enabled by grace to bring forth the fruits of righte- 
ousness in his conversation. 

xii. 5 — Peter therefore was kept in prison ; but 
prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto 
God for him. 

Mr Elliot, who laboured as a missionary among the Ameri- 
can Indians, was eminent in prayer ; and several instances are 
recorded of remarkable answers having been given to his peti- 
tions ; the following is striking : — 

Mr Foster, a godly gentleman of Charlestown, was with 
his son taken by the Turks ; and the barbarous prince., in who^e 



102 ACTS XIII. 

dominions he was become a slave, was resolved, that in his 
lifetime, no captive should be released ; so that Mr Foster's 
friends, when they had heard the sad news, concluded that all 
hope was lost. Upon this, Mr Elliot, in some of his next prayers 
before a great congregation, addressed the throne of grace in 
the following very plain language : — " Heavenly Father, work 
for the redemption of thy poor servant Foster. And if the 
prince who detains him, will not, as they say, dismiss him as 
long as himself lives, Lord, we pray thee, kill that cruel prince : 
kill him, and glorify thyself upon him. ' In answer to this 
singular prayer, Mr Foster quickly returned from captivity, 
and brought an account, that the prince who had detained him 
had come to an untimely death; by which means he had been 
set at liberty. " Thus we knew," says Dr Cotton Mather. 
" that a prophet had been among us."'" 

xii. 11. — When Peter was come to himself, he said, 
Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent 
his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of 
Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of 
the Jews. 

One Mr Barber, a protestant, was, in the reign of Queen 
Mary; condemned to the flames. The morning of execution 
arrived. The intended martyr walked to Smithfield, and was 
bound to the stake. The faggots were piled round him, and 
the executioner only waited for the word of command to apply 
the torch. Just at this crisis, tidings came of the queen's death ; 
which obliged the officers to stop their proceedings, until the 
pleasure of the new queen (Elizabeth) should be known. In 
memory of so providential a deliverance, by which the good 
man was as a brand plucked out of the fire, he was no sooner 
released from his imprisonment and troubles, than he got a 
picture of Queen Elizabeth made, decorated round with signi- 
ficant ornaments, and ordered in his will that the picture should 
be transmitted as a memorial to future times, in the eldest 
branch of his family. 

xiii. 9, 10. — Paul said. O full of all subtilty and 
all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of 
all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the 
right wavs of the Lord. 



ACTS XIV. 103 

When Polycarp was at Rome he employed his time in con- 
firming the faithful, and convincing gainsayers, whereby he re- 
claimed many who had been infected with the pernicious here- 
sies of Marcian and Valentius ; and so very fervent was his 
affection for the truth, that whenever he heard of any of the 
mischievous opinions of his time mentioned, he used to stop his 
ears, and cry out, " Good God, to what times hast thou reserv- 
ed me, that I should hear such things ! " And one day meet- 
ing Marcian, who called to him, saying, " Polycarp, own us," 
he replied, " I own thee to be tho first-born of Satan." 

xiii. 40, 41 — Beware, therefore, lest that come 
upon you which is spoken of in the prophets : Be- 
hold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish. 

One Mr Soper, while residing at Alfriston, in England, hav- 
ing been called to the knowledge of the truth, separated him- 
self from his former gay associates. Some of these giddy 
youths meeting him one day when going to the chapel, thus 
addressed him: " Well, Soper, you seem to be very zealous 
for religion ; we shall soon hear that you are a preacher. Come, 
can't you preach us a sermon ? " Soper very gravely replied, 
" No ; I will name a text, and will leave you to preach the 
sermon." Then, with great emphasis, he recited the above 
passage : " Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which 
is spoken of in the prophets : Behold, ye despisers, and won- 
der, and perish ; for I work a work in your days, a work which 
ye shall in nowise believe, though a man declare it unto you." 
The words fell with such weight on their minds, that not one 
of them could make a reply, nor did they ever ridicule him any 
more. 

xiv. 2. — The unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gen- 
tiles, and made their hearts evil affected against the 
brethren. 

About the beginning of 1825, Mr King, the American mis- 
sionary spent about six months in Tyre in Syria, and made 
some efforts to establish a school there for the instruction of 
Tyrian females. He was very near succeeding, when one of 
the principal priests rose up and said, " It is by no means ex- 
pedient to teach women to read the word of God. It is better 
for them to remain in ignorance, than to know how to read and 



104 ACTS XV. 

write. They are quite bad enough with what little they know ; 
teach them to read and write, and there would be no living with 
them." These arguments were sufficient to convince all the 
Greek and Catholic population, of the impropriety of female 
education. 

xiv. 15. — We also are men of like passions with 
you. 

When the French ambassador visited the illustrious Bacon 
in his last illness, and found him in bed with the curtains drawn, 
he addressed this fulsome compliment to him : " You are like 
the angels of whom we hear and read much, but have not the 
pleasure of seeing them." — The reply was the sentiment of a 
philosopher, and language not unworthy of a Christian, — " If 
the complaisance of others compares me to an angel, my infir- 
mities tell me I am a man." 

xv. 2. — Paul and Barnabas had no small dissen- 
sion and disputation with them. 

A gentleman, who was in company with the late Mr John 
Newton of London, lamented the violent disputes that often 
take place among Christians respecting the non-essentials of 
Christianity, and particularly church-government. " Many," 
he said, " seem to give their chief attention to such topics, 
and take more pleasure in talking on these disputable points, 
than on spiritual religion, the love of Christ, and the privileges 
of his people." " Sir," said the venerable old man, " did you 
ever see a whale ship ? I am told that when the fish is struck 
with the harpoon, and feels the smart of the wound, it some- 
times makes for the boat, and would probably dash it to pieces. 
To prevent this, they throw a cask overboard ; and when it is 
staved to pieces, they throw over another. Now, Sir," added 
Mr Newton, " church-government is the tub which Satan has 
thrown over to the people of whom you speak." 

xv. 11 — We believe that, through the grace of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as 
they. 

The late Rev. Andrew Fuller, one day during his last ill- 
ness, complained of great depression and sinking, saying that 



ACTS XVI. 105 

he must die. A friend replied, " I do not know of any per- 
son, Sir, who is in a more enviable situation than yourself; a 
good man on the verge of a blessed immortality." He humbly 
acquiesced, and hoped it was so ; and then lifting up his hands, 
exclaimed, " If I am saved, it must be by great sovereign 
grace, — by great sovereign grace." 

xvi. 14. — A certain woman named Lydia, whose 
heart the Lord opened, that she attended to the 
things which were spoken of Paul. 

The late Rev. John Pattison of Edinburgh, having occasion 
to preach on a Sabbath-day in Dundee, had, previously to his 
leaving home, laid aside, and ordered to be packed up with 
some other necessary articles, a certain note-book, which con- 
tained a sermon, on which the good man had bestowed consi- 
derable pains, and which he hoped might not be unacceptable 
to a congregation of Christians, who then enjoyed the stated 
labours of the late excellent Mr M'Ewen. On his arrival in 
Dundee, however, which was not till the Saturday evening, 
and on examining the contents of his saddle-bags, he found the 
note-book wanting, nor had any other been substituted in its 
place. He was, therefore, late as it was, obliged to make 
choice of a new subject, and to cast his thoughts together upon 
it, in the best manner he could ; and, after all his pains, and 
all his prayers, was not a little apprehensive that such defective 
preparation would not only affect the respectability of his ap- 
pearance in the pulpit, but in some measure mar the success 
of his work. " Not by might," however, " nor by power, but 
by my Spirit, saith the Lord." It happened in adorable pro- 
vidence, on the afternoon of that Sabbath, that a poor fish wo- 
man, notorious for clamour and profanity, stumbled into the 
meeting, and felt the sermon, particularly in the application, 
come home with such life and peculiar energy to her soul, as 
instantly to produce the most happy effect on the dispositions 
of her heart, and tenor of her conduct. On Monday she at- 
tended with her fish-basket at market as usual, — but, O how 
changed ! Instead of her former noise and profanity, she was 
quiet and calm as a lamb — instead of asking from her custom- 
ers double or triple the value of her fish, she spoke to them 
with discretion, and told the lowest price at once. Surprised 
at this new behaviour of the woman, some who were present, 
judging she might be indisposed, began to inquire for her 



106 ACTS XVII. 

health ; one of them in particular said to her, — " Dear Margaret, 
what is the matter with you? you are not at all as you used to be." 
"No," replied Margaret, "and I hope never shall. It pleased 
God to lead me yesterday to Mr M'Ewen's meeting-house, 
where I heard words I will never forget, and found something 
come over me the like of which I never knew before." — The 
woman lived to give the most satisfactory evidence of the 
soundness of her conversion, by a walk and conversation be- 
coming the gospel. 

xvi. 28. — Do thyself no harm ; for we are all here. 

An ingenious young man, having come to London in the 
hope of getting some employment, was unsuccessful in his at- 
tempt, and being reduced to extreme poverty, came tc\ the 
awful resolution of throwing himself into the Thames. On 
passing near the Royal Exchange to effect his desperate pur- 
pose, he saw the carriage of the late excellent Mr Hanway, 
under the arms of which was the motto, " Never despair." 
The singular occurrence of this sentence, had, under Provi- 
dence, such an effect on the young man, that he immediately 
desisted from his horrid design, gained soon afterwards a con- 
siderable establishment, and died in good circumstances in the 
common course of mortality. 

xvii. 2 — Paul reasoned with them out of the Scrip- 
tures. 

The late Mrs Graham of New York regarded with parti- 
cular esteem the works of Dr Owen, the Rev. William Ro- 
maine, and the Rev. John Newton, and read them with plea- 
sure and profit. One day she remarked to Mr B , her 

son-in-law, that she preferred the ancient writers on theology 
to the modern, because they dealt more in italics. " Dear 
mother," he replied, " what religion can there be in italics ?" 
" You know," said she, " that old writers expected credit 
for the doctrines they taught, by proving them from the word 
of God to be correct ; they inserted the Scripture passages in 
italics, and their works have been sometimes one half in italics. 
Modern writers, on theology, on the contrary, give us a long 
train of reasoning to persuade us to their opinion, but very lit- 
tle in italics." 

xvii. 18 — Certain philosophers of the Epicureans, 



ACTS XVIII. 107 

and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some 
said, What will this babbler say ? other some, He 
seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods ; because 
he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. 

" This has been one of the worst nights," says Mr Bampton, 
one of the missionaries in India, " I ever endured. Mockery ! 
mockery ! cruel mockery ! almost unbearable. I talked for a 
while, and was heard by some, on the blessings to be enjoyed 
by faith in Jesus Christ ; when a man came with a hell-har- 
dened countenance, and that peculiar constant laugh which I 
can hardly bear. The burden of his cry was — ' Juggernaut 
is the foundation ! Juggernaut is completely god ! victory to 
Juggernaut!' He clapped his hands — he shouted — he laughed, 
and induced the rest, or a great part of them, to do the same. 
On the ground of reason I fear no one ; and rage I com- 
monly bear very well ; but these everlasting laughing buf- 
foons are nearly too much for me. It is my one great care, 
that amidst a reviling, laughing, shouting crowd, I do not seem 
abashed." 

xviii. 3. — And because he was of the same craft, 
he abode with them and wrought ; (for by their oc- 
cupation they were tent-makers.) 

A violent Welsh squire having taken offence at a poor cu- 
rate who employed his leisure hours in mending clocks and 
watches, applied to the Bishop of St Asaph, with a formal 
complaint against him, for impiously carrying on a trade, con- 
trary to the statute. His lordship having heard the complaint, 
told the squire he might depend upon the strictest justice being 
done in the case : accordingly the mechanic divine was sent 
for a few days after, when the bishop asked him, " How he 
dared to disgrace his diocese by becoming a mender of clocks 
and watches?" The other, with all humility, answered, " To 
satisfy the wants of a wife and ten children." " That won't 
do with me," rejoined the prelate, " I will inflict such a punish- 
ment upon you, as shall make you leave off your pitiful trade, 
I promise you;" and immediately, calling in his secretary, 
ordered him to make out a presentation for the astonished cu- 
rate to a living of at least one hundred and fifty pounds per 



108 ACTS XIX. 

xviii. 26. — He began to speak boldly in the syna- 
gogue ; whom, when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, 
they took him unto them, and expounded unto him 
the way of God more perfectly. 

It is said of the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, that, for some time 
after his ordination, his views of divine truth, in common with 
those of a large proportion of godly ministers of the Church 
of Scotland in that age, were not quite clear and correct, but 
consisted of a confused mixture of legal and evangelical doc- 
trine. It pleased God, however, to give him more accurate 
and satisfactory conceptions of the truth, and to bless for that 
purpose, the interviews he had with his brother Ralph, and 
others. Nay, according to his own ingenuous acknowledg- 
ments to his children and friends, he was more deeply in- 
debted to no one, as an instrument of helping him to under- 
stand " the way of God more perfectly," than to his amiable 
partner, Alison Turpie, a young lady of engaging dispositions 
and eminent piety, whom he married soon after his settlement 
in Portmoak. A confidential conversation, which he overheard 
betwixt her and his brother Ralph, on the subject of their re- 
ligious experience, is thought to have contributed greatly to- 
wards the happy change that took place in Ebenezer's views 
and impressions with relation to the gospel. Whilst they 
were freely opening their minds to each other, in a bower in 
his garden, immediately beneath the window of his study, 
which then happened to be open, he listened with much eager- 
ness to their interesting communications. Their views and 
feelings appeared so different from his own, that he was imme- 
diately struck with the idea that they possessed valuable at- 
tainments to which he was a stranger ; and the impression 
seemed to have remained, till, with regard to vital and evan- 
gelical Christianity, he became not merely almost, but altoge- 
ther, as they were. 

xix. 19. — Many of them also which used curious 
arts, brought their books together, and burned them 
before all men. 

The Earl of Rochester, of whom it has been said, that he 
was " a great wit, a great scholar, a great poet, a great sin- 
ner, and a great penitent," left a strict charge to the person in 



ACTS XX. 109 

whose custody his papers were, to bum all his profane and lewd 
writings, as being only fit to promote vice and immorality, by 
which he had so highly offended God, and shamed and blas- 
phemed that holy religion into which he had been baptized. 
Dr Watts refers to him in the following lines : — 

" Strephon of noble blood and mind, 
(For ever shine his name !) 
As death approached, his soul refined, 
And gave his looser sonnets to the flame. 

' Burn, burn,' he cried, with sacred rage ; 
' Hell is the due of every page, 
Hell be the fate.' But, O, indulgent heaven ! 
So vile the muse, and yet the man forgiven !" 

xix. 36. — Ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing 
rashly. 

" I have heard one say," observes Dr Mather, " that there 
was a gentleman mentioned in the 19th chapter of the Acts, 
to whom he was more indebted than to any man in the world. 
This was he whom our translation calls the town-clerk of 
Ephesus, whose counsel it was to do nothing rashly. Upon 
any proposal of consequence, it was a usual speech with him 
— * We will first advise with the town-clerk of Ephesus/ 
One, in a fond compliance with a friend, forgetting the town- 
clerk, may do that in haste, which he may repent at leisure — 
may do what may cost him several hundreds of pounds, be- 
sides trouble, which he would not have undergone for thou- 
sands." 

xx. 9 — As Paul was long preaching, Eutychus 
sunk down with sleep. 

One Lord's Day afternoon, the late Mr Fuller of Kettering, 
perceiving some of his hearers to be drowsy ; as soon as he had 
read his text, he struck the Bible three times against the side 
of the pulpit, calling out, " What! asleep already ! I am often 
afraid I should preach you asleep, but the fault cannot be 
mine to-day, for I have not yet begun !" 

xx. 21 — Testifying both to the Jews, and also to 
the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith to- 
ward our Lord Jesus Christ. 



110 ACTS XXI. 

In the year 1680, the Rev. Philip Henry preached on the 
doctrine of faith and repentance, from several texts of Scrip- 
ture. He used to say, that he had been told concerning the 
famous Mr Dod, that some called him in scorn, faith and re- 
pentance, because he insisted so much upon these two in all 
his preaching. *' But," says he, '* if this be to be vile, I will 
be yet more vile, for faith and repentance are all in all in 
Christianity." Concerning repentance, he has sometimes said, 
" If I were to die in the pulpit, I would desire to die preach- 
ing repentance ; or if I die out of the pulpit, I would desire 
to die practising repentance." And he had often this saying 
concerning repentance, " He that repents every day for the 
sins of every day, when he comes to die, will have the sins but 
of one day to repent of." 

xxi. 13. — Then Paul answered, What mean ye to 

weep, and to break mine heart? For I am ready 

not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem 

for the name of the Lord Jesus. 

When Luther was summoned to attend the diet at Worms, 
his friends, notwithstanding the safe-conduct granted to him 
by the emperor Charles V. apprehending danger to his per- 
son, would have dissuaded him from going thither. Luther 
replied, " I am determined to enter the city in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, though as many devils should oppose me 
as there are tiles upon all the houses at Worms." He was ac- 
companied from Wittemberg by some divines, and one hun- 
dred horse; but he took only eight horsemen into Worms. 
When he stept out of the carriage, he said, in presence of a 
great number of persons, " God shall be on my side." 

xxi. 1 4. — The will of the Lord be done. 

" When I was in the United States of America," says a 
christian writer, " I heard of the conversion of a complete man 
of the world; which, as far as means were concerned, owed 
its existence to the following circumstances : — God laid his 
hand on a lovely, and I think, an only daughter; and the af- 
fliction terminated in death. When the terrible moment ar- 
rived in which the idol of his affections must die, he stood at 
the head of her bed, almost frantic with grief; and, having no 
consolation above what nature and education supplied, as is 



ACTS XXII. 1 1 1 

frequently the case, his grief terminated in rage ; he was al- 
most ready to curse the God who, as he thought, could be so 
cruel as to deprive him of so dear a child. His wife, an ami- 
able and sensible woman, at the same time stood at the foot of 
the bed. Her eyes were suffused with tears, her hands lifted 
up to heaven ; and, while every feature spoke the feelings of 
her soul, she exclaimed, ' The will of the Lord be done ! The 
will of the Lord be done ! The will of the Lord be done !' 
These exclamations very naturally called the attention of her 
frantic husband from her dying daughter to herself; and, as 
he afterwards confessed, he was on the point of wreaking his 
vengeance on, what he then considered, an unfeeling wife, and 
an unnatural, hard-hearted mother. After a while, however, 
the storm of passion gave place to reflection. He was a man of 
eminence at the bar, a colonel in the army ; he prided himself 
on being a philosopher ; and was therefore led to examine how 
his courage and philosophy had supported him in the day of 
trial. Here he saw reason to reflect on his conduct with 
shame ; the more so, as he contrasted it with the conduct of 
his amiable and pious partner. 4 How is this ?' he could not 
but exclaim ; * I am a man and a soldier. I boast of my cou- 
rage, and pride myself in my philosophy, in which I am versed, 
as being equal to the support of man in every emergency. 
But in the hour of trial I acted an unworthy part. My wife, 
a delicate female, and, notwithstanding my suspicions to the 
contrary, one of the most affectionate of mothers, was alone 
the magnanimous sufferer on this trying occasion. What, un- 
der circumstances so directly opposite, could lead to such con- 
trary results?' k She is a Christian,' said a still small voice; 
' and I am not : surely the secret is here !' This train of thought 
led to the most pleasing consequences. He concluded that 
there must be a reality in that religion which he had hitherto 
despised ; and, if so, that it is the one thing needful. He con- 
ferred not with flesh and blood; but immediately began to 
seek the consolations of true religion, and, ere long, found 

' What nothing earthly gives, or can destroy : 
The soul's calm sunshine, and f he heartfelt joy !' " 

xxii. 6, 7. — As I made my journey, and was come 
nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there 
shone from heaven a great light round about me. 
And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice 



] 12 ACTS XXII. 

saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutes! thou | 
me? 

Colonel Gardiner, on the memorable day of his conversion, 
had spent the preceding part of the evening in gay company ; 
and having a criminal assignation with a married woman at 
twelve o'clock (the company having broken up at eleven), he 
took up a book entitled, " The Christian Soldier, or Heaven 
taken by Storm," which his pious mother or aunt had slipt into 
his portmanteau, expecting to find something that might afford 
him a little diversion. While reading it, he thought he saw 
an unusual blaze of light fall on the book, which he at first 
imagined might happen by some accident in the candle. But, 
lifting up his eyes, he apprehended, to his extreme amazement, 
that there was before him, as it were, suspended in the air, a 
visible representation of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, 
surrounded on all sides with a glory ; and was impressed as if 
a voice, or something equivalent to a voice, had come to him 
to this effect, "Oh, sinner ! did I suffer this for thee, and are 
these thy returns ?" But w r hether this were an audible voice, 
or only a strong impression on his mind, equally striking, he 
did not seem very confident, " though," says his biographer, 
" to the best of my remembrance, he rather judged it to be 
the former. Struck with so amazing a phenomenon as this, 
there hardly remained any life in him, so that he sunk down in 
the arm-chair in which he sat, and continued, he knew not 
exactly how long, insensible (which was one circumstance that 
made me several times to take the liberty to suggest that he 
might possibly be all the while asleep) ; but however that 
were, he quickly after opened his eyes, and saw nothing more 
than usual." 

xxii. 23. — They cried out and cast off their clothes, 
and threw dust into the air. 

A great similarity appears between the conduct of the Jew r s, 
when the chief captain of the Roman garrison at Jerusalem 
presented himself in the temple, and the behaviour of the Per- 
sian peasants, when they go to court to complain of the gover- 
nors under whom they live, upon their oppressions becoming 
intolerable. Sir John Chardin tells us respecting them, that 
they carry their complaints against their governors by com- 
panies, consisting of several hundreds, and sometimes of a 



ACTS XXIII. 113 

thousand ; they repair to that gate of the palace near to which 
their prince is most likely to be, where they begin to make 
the most horrid cries, tearing their garments, and throwing 
dust into the air, at the same time demanding justice. The 
king, upon hearing these cries, sends to know the occasion of 
them. The people deliver their complaint in writing, upon 
which he lets them know that he will commit the cognizance 
of the affair to some one, by whom justice is usually done them. 

xxiii. 3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall 

smite thee, thou whited wall ; for sittest thou to 

judge me after the law, and commandest me to be 

smitten contrary to the law ? 

Mr Joseph Sherwood, one of the nonconformist ministers of 
England, having preached on that text, " I will avenge the 
quarrel of my covenant," was carried to a petty session of jus- 
tices, where one Mr Robinson sat as chairman, who greatly 
reviled Mr Sherwood, and called him a rebel, &c. which he 
bore patiently, only making this reply, " That as he was a 
minister of the gospel, and at the church where there were so 
great an assembly, he could not but have compassion on the 
multitude, and give them a word of exhortation." Mr Robin- 
son said, " But did ever man preach from such a rebellious 
text?" " Sir," replied Mr Sherwood, " I know man is a 
rebel against his Creator, but I never knew that the Creator 
could be a rebel against his creature." On which Robinson 
cried out, " Write his mittimus for Launceston jail." And 
then turning to Mr Sherwood, said, •' I say, Sir, it was a re- 
bellious text." Mr Sherwood looked him full in the face, and 
addressed him in these words : " Sir, if you die the common 
death of all men, God never spake by me." He was then sent 
to prison, where he found favour with the keepers, and had 
liberty to walk about the castle and town. Robinson returned 
home ; and a few days after, walking in the fields, a bull that 
had been very tame, came up to a gate where he stood, and 
his servant-maid before him, who had been milking, when the 
creature turned her aside with his horns, ran directly upon ■Ro- 
binson, and tore out his bowels ! He was carried home in this 
miserable state, and soon afterwards died. 

xxiii. 15 — We, or ever he come near, are ready 
to kill him. 



114 ACTS XXIV. 

Mr Thorowgood, a minister of the 17th century, having 
reproved the sin of swearing, one of his hearers, sensible of his 
guilt, and thinking he was the person particularly intended, 
resolved to kill him ; and in order to do it, he hid himself be- 
hind a hedge, which he knew Mr Thorowgood would ride 
by when he went to preach his weekly lecture. When Mr T. 
came to the place, he prepared to shoot him, but his piece fail- 
ed, and only flashed in the pan. The next week he lay in the 
same place, with the same design. "When Mr T. came up, the 
wretched man attempted to fire again, but the piece would not 
go off. Upon this, his conscience accusing him for such 
wickedness, he went after him, and, falling down on his knees, 
with tears in his eyes, related the whole to him, and begged 
his pardon. This providence was the means of his conversion, 
and he became, from that time, a serious Christian. 

xxiv. 16. — And herein do I exercise myself, to 

have always a conscience void of offence toward 

God and toward men. 

Two monks having come one day to William Rufus, king of 
England, to buy an Abbot's place, who outreached each other 
in the sums they offered, the king said to a third monk, who 
stood by, " What wilt thou give for the place ?" " Not a 
penny," answered the monk, " for it is against my conscience." 
" Then," replied the king, " thou of the three best deservest 
it," and instantly gave it to him. 

xxiv. 26 He hoped also that money should have 

been given him of Paul, that he might loose him : 
wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and com- 
muned with him. 

A case was tried before a young Cadi at Smyrna, the mer- 
its of which were as follow : — A poor man claimed a house 
which a rich man usurped. The former held his deeds and 
documents to prove his right ; but the latter had provided a 
number of witnesses to invalidate his title. In order to sup- 
port their evidence effectually, he presented the Cadi with a 
bag containing 500 ducats. When the day arrived for hear- 
ing the cause, the poor man told his story, and produced his 
writings, but could not support his case by witnesses; the 
other rested the whole case on his witnesses, and on his adver- 



ACTS XXV. 1 15 

sary's defect in law, who could produce none ; he urged the 
Cadi, therefore, to give sentence in his favour. After the most 
pressing solicitations, the judge calmly drew out from under 
his sofa the bag of ducats which the rich man had given him 
as a bribe, saying to him very gravely, "You have been much 
mistaken in the suit, for if the poor man could produce no wit- 
nesses in confirmation of his right, I myself can produce at 
least five hundred." He then threw away the bag with re- 
proach and indignation, and decreed the house to the poor 
plaintiff. Such was the noble decision of a Turkish Judge, 
whose disinterested conduct was the reverse of the unjust, time- 
serving Felix. 

xxv. 7. — And when he was come, the Jews which 
came down from Jerusalem, stood round about, and 
laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, 
which they could not prove. 

When the first missionaries from America reached the Sand- 
wich Islands, in the spring of 1820, an effort was made by 
some of the foreigners to have their landing and establishment 
at the Islands forbidden by the government. With this view, 
their motives were misrepresented by them to the king and 
chiefs. It was asserted, that while the ostensible object of the 
mission was good, the secret and ultimate design was the sub- 
jugation of the Islands, and the enslavement of the people : 
and by way of corroboration, the treatment of the Mexicans, 
and aborigines of South America and the West Indies, by the 
Spaniards, and the possession of Hindostan by the British, were 
gravely related. It was in consequence of this misrepresenta- 
tion, that a delay of eight days occurred before the mission- 
aries could secure permission to disembark. In answer to 
these allegations, the more intelligent of the chiefs remarked, 
— " The missionaries speak well ; they say they have come 
from America only to do us good : if they intend to seize our 
islands, why are they so few in number ? where are their guns ? 
and why have they brought their wives ?" To this it was re- 
plied, " It is true their number is small ; a few only have come 
now, the more fully to deceive. But soon many more will ar- 
rive, and your islands will be lost." The chiefs again answer- 
ed, " They say that they will do us good; they arc few in 
number ; we will try them for one year, and if we find they 
deceive us, it will then be time enough to send them away." 



116 ACTS XXVII. 

Permission to land was accordingly granted. Mr Young, it is 
said, was the only foreigner who advocated their reception. 

xxvi. 24 — Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, 
thou art beside thyself : much learning doth make 
thee mad. 

As soon as the late Mr Berridge, vicar of Everton, began 
to preach in a different strain from the neighbouring clergy, 
it was observed, they found themselves hurt at the emptiness 
of their own churches, and the fulness of his. The squire of the 
parish, too, was much offended ; he did not like to see so many 
strangers, and be so incommoded, and endeavoured to turn Mr 
Berridge out of his living, by a complaint to his bishop. Mr 
Berridge being sent for by his lordship, he was accosted in the 
following manner : — " Well, Berridge, they tell me you go 
about preaching out of your own parish ; did I institute you 
to any other than Everton?" et No, my lord." " Well, but 
you go and preach where you have no right so to do." " It is 
true, my lord ; I remember seeing five or six clergymen out 
of their own parishes playing at bowls." " Pho," said his 
lordship, " If you don't desist, you will very likely be sent to 
Huntingdon jail." *' As to that, my lord, 1 have no greater 
liking to a jail than other people ; but I had rather go there 
with a good conscience, than be at liberty with a bad one." 
Here his lordship, looking hard at Berridge, gravely assured 
him, " He was beside himself, and that in a few months time 
he would be either better or worse." " Then," said he, *'my 
lord, you may make yourself easy in this business ; for if I am 
better, you must suppose I shall desist of my own accord ; and 
if worse, you need not send me to Huntingdon jail, as I shall 
be provided with an accommodation in bedlam." 

xxvii. 20. — And when neither sun noi; stars in 
many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on 
us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken 
away. 

In the year 1709, a packet boat, returning from Holland to 
England, was so damaged by a tempest, that she sprung a leak, 
and was in the utmost extremity of danger. When all the ma- 
riners and passengers were in the lavt distress, and the pumps 



ACTS XXVII. 117 

had been worked to carry off the water, but all to little pur- 
pose, by a good Providence the hole filled, and was stopped 
seemingly of itself. This struck them all with wonder and 
astonishment. No sooner did they get safe into port, than 
they examined the ship to ascertain the cause, and found a fish 
sticking in the very hole, which had been driven into it by the 
force of the tempest- But for this wonderful Providence, they 
must all have perished. 

xxvii. 27. — Therefore, sirs, be of good cheer ; for 
I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told 
me. 

Some years ago, a minister was preaching in Plymouth, 
"when a written paper was given him to this effect: — " The 
thanksgivings of this congregation are desired to Almighty 

God, by the chaplain, passengers, and crew of the , West 

Indiaman, for their merciful escape from shipwreck during the 
late awful tempest." — The next day the minister went on board 
the vessel, with some friends from the shore ; and talking with 
the passengers, a lady thus expressed herself: — " Oh, Sir, 
what a blessing must true religion be ! Never did I see it 
more than in my poor negress, Ellen, during the dreadful 
storm. When, Sir, we were tossed to the heavens, and sunk 
again to the depths, and expecting every wave would break 
over the vessel and entomb us all, my mind was in a horrible 
state — I was afraid to die — I could not think to appear before 
God, but in dread dismay. Ellen would come to me and say, 
with all possible composure, * Never mind, missa; look to 
Jesus Christ — he gave — he rule de sea — he prepare to die." 
And when, Sir, we neared the shore, and were at a loss to 
know on what part of the coast we were, fearing every minute 
to be dashed to atoms on the rocks, my mind still in a distract- 
ed state — I feared to die— I knew nothing of religion ; — poor 
Ellen, with the same composure as before, came to me and 
said, ' Don't be fear, missa, look to Jesus Christ, he de rock ; 
no shipwreck on dat rock ; he save to de utmost ; don't be 
fear, missa, look to Jesus Christ.' I determined, Sir, I hope 
in divine strength, that if ever we reached the shore in safety, 
I would seek to possess that religion which so supported the 
heart of a poor negress in the midst of such dreadful danger 
and alarms." 



118 ROMANS I. 

xxviii. 20. — For the hope of Israel I am bound 
with this chain. 

Guy de Brez, a French minister, was prisoner in the castle 
of Tournay. A lady who visited him said, " She wondered 
how he could eat, or drink, or sleep in quiet." " Madam," 
said he, " my chains do not terrify me, or break my sleep ; 
on the contrary, I glory and take delight therein, esteeming 
them at an higher rate than chains and rings of gold, or jewel 
of any price whatever. The rattling of my chains is like th 
effect of an instrument of music in my ears : not that such an 
effect comes merely from my chains, but it is because I am 
bound therewith for maintaining the truth of the gospel." 

xxviii. 30. — Paul dwelt two whole years in his 
own hired house, and received all that came in unto 
him. 

Mr Newton was in the habit of receiving his religious friends 
at an early breakfast, when many used to be gratified by his 
pious and instructive conversation, and esteemed it a privilege 
to unite with him in family devotions. On one of those happy 
occasions, a friend introduced to him a young minister from 
the country, who had expressed a desire to see him; " Ah !" 
said Mr Newton, " I was a wild beast once, on the coast of 
Africa, and the Lord tamed me : and there are many people 
now who have a curiosity to see me !" 



ROMANS. 

Chap. i. 21 — Because that, when they knew God, 
they glorified him not as God. 

A gentleman, who seemed strongly impressed with the opi- 
nion, that in order to exalt revelation, it is necessary to main- 
tain that there is no such thing at all as natural religion, visit- 
ing a celebrated public seminary in Edinburgh, on occasion of 
some mention of the ancient philosophers in a passage which 
the pupils were then reading, asked a blind boy the following 



ROMANS II. 119 

questions : " What did their philosophy do for them?" The 
boy returned no answer. " Did it," resumed the examiner, 
" lead them to any knowledge of religion ?" " They had no 
right knowledge of God." " But could they be said," rejoin- 
ed the visitor in a marked tone of disapprobation, " to have 
any knowledge of God at all?" After a moment's thought, 
the child answered, " Yes." " That," observed the gentle- 
man to the superintendents, " is by no means aright answer." 
Upon which the pupil was asked whether he had any reason for 
making this answer, to which he replied, " Yes." " What is 
it ?" " The apostle Paul, in the first of the Romans, says, that 
when they knew god," laying an emphasis on these words, 
" they glorified him not as God." 

i. 31 — Without natural affection, implacable, un- 
merciful. 

Mr Ellis, in his Missionary Tour, relates the following 
shocking instance of infanticide. A man and his wife, tenants 
of Mr Young, who has for many years held, under the king, 
the small district of Kukuwaw, situated on the centre of Wai- 
akea bay, resided not far from Maaro's house. They had one 
child, a fine little boy. A quarrel arose between them on one 
occasion respecting this child. The wife refusing to accede to 
the wishes of the husband, he, in revenge, caught up the child 
by the head and the feet, broke its back across his knee, and 
then threw it down in expiring agonies before her. Struck 
with the atrocity of the act, Mr Young seized the man, led 
him before the king Tamehameha, who was then at W r aiakea, 
and requested that he might be punished. The king inquired, 
" To whom did the child he has murdered belong?" Mr 
Young answered, that it was his own son. " Then," said the 
king, " neither you nor I have any right to interfere ; I cannot 
say any thing to him." 

ii. 23, 24. — Thou that makest thy boast of the 
law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou 
God ? For the name of God is blasphemed among 
the Gentiles through you. 

Mr Brainerd informs us, that when among the American In- 
dians at one place, where there was a great number, he halted, 
and offered to instruct them in the truths of Christianity. 



120 ROMANS III. 

" Why," said one of them, " should you desire the Indians to 
become Christians, seeing the Christians are so much worse 
than the Indians. The Christians lie, steal, and drink, worse 
than the Indians. They first taught the Indians to be drunk. 
They steal to that degree, that their rulers are obliged to hang 
them for it ; and that is not enough to deter others from the 
practice. But none of the Indians were ever hanged for steal- 
ing ; and yet they do not steal half so much. We will not 
consent, therefore, to become Christians, lest we should be as 
bad as they. We will live as our fathers lived, and go where 
our fathers are when we die." Notwithstanding Mr B. did 
all he could to explain to them that these were not Christians 
in heart, and that he did not want them to become such as 
these, he could not prevail, but left them, mortified at the 
thought, that the wickedness of some called Christians should 
engender such prejudices. 

iii. 14. — Whose mouth is full of cursing and bit- 
terness. 

A minister travelling in a stage coach, had the mortification 
of being shut up for the night with a naval officer who was 
much addicted to swearing. At length the conversation turn- 
ed on the topic of the day, the Boulogne Flotilla ; when the 
officer observed, " If one of our ships meet with them, she 
will send them all to the devil." " There is a great deal of 
propriety, Sir," said the minister, " in your observation ; for 
it is probable there are many profane swearers on board the 
French ships ; should these men die in their sins, they will 
certainly go to the devil." He looked confounded, blushed, 
but swore no more, and in the morning took a respectful leave. 

iii. 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a pro- 
pitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his 
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
through the forbearance of God. 

Cowper, the poet, speaking of his religious experience, says, 
" But the happy period which was to shake off my fetters, 
and afford me a clear opening of the free mercy of God in 
Christ Jesus, was now arrived. I flung myself into a chair 
near the window, and seeing a Bible there, ventured once more 



ROMANS IV. 121 

to apply to it for comfort and instruction. The first verse I 
saw, was the 25th of the 3d of Romans ; * Whom God hath 
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to 
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
through the forbearance of God.' Immediately I received 
strength to believe, and the full beams of the Sun of Righteous- 
ness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement 
he had made, my pardon sealed in his blood, and all the fulness 
and completeness of his justification. In a moment I believed, 
and received the gospel. Whatever my friend Zvladan had said 
to me so long before, revived in all its clearness, with demon- 
stration of the Spirit, and with power." 

iv. 5 To him that worketh not, but believeth 

on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is count- 
ed for righteousness. 

Mr Samuel Walker of Truro was for some time a preacher 
before he experienced the power of godliness on his own heart. 
He was brought to right views in the following manner : — 
About a year after he came to Truro, being in company with 
some friends, the subject of whose conversation turned upon 
the nature of justifying and saving faith, he, as he freely 
owned afterwards, became sensible that he was totally unac- 
quainted with that faith which had been the topic of discourse; 
and also convinced, that he was destitute of something, which 
was of the greatest importance to his own, as well as the sal- 
vation of the people committed to his charge. He said no- 
thing at that time of the concern he was brought under, but 
was ever ready afterwards, as opportunity offered, to enter 
upon the subject. He now began to discover, that he had 
hitherto been ignorant of the gospel salvation, inattentive to 
the spiritual state of his own, and the souls of others, and 
governed in all his conduct, not by the only christian motives 
of love to God and man, but purely by such as were sensual 
and selfish ; he found he was a slave to the desire of man's 
esteem ; and in short, as he himself expressed it, had been all 
wrong both within and without. Having, by prayer, and 
study of the Scriptures, under the divine blessing, obtained 
just views of divine truth, and experiencing the power of re- 
ligion on his own mind, he became a distinguished and suc- 
cessful preacher of the gospel, whose praise is in all the 
churches. 



122 ROMANS V. 

v. 1. — Therefore, being justified by faith, we 
have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

A minister of the gospel was once preaching in a public 
hospital. There was an aged woman present, who for several 
weeks had been aroused to attend to the concerns of her soul ; 
and was now in a state of wretchedness, approaching to de- 
spair. When she heard the word of God from the lips of his 
servant, she trembled like a criminal in the hands of the exe- 
cutioner. She was an object of pity to all who knew her. 
Formerly she had entertained hope of acceptance with God ; 
but she had departed from her comforter, and now she was the 
prey of a guilty conscience. A short time after this, the same 
minister was preaching in the same place; but during the first 
prayer, his text, and the whole arrangement of his discourse, 
went completely from him, he could not recollect a single sen- 
tence of either ; but Romans v. 1, took possession of his whole 
soul : " Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." He considered this a 
sufficient intimation of his duty, and descanted freely on justi- j 
fication by faith, and a sinner's peace with God, through the 
atonement of Christ. It was the hour of mercy to this poor 
distracted woman. A ray of divine consolation now penetrated 
her soul; and she said to the minister when taking his leave, 
" I am a poor vile sinner, but I think, being justified by faith, 
I begin again to have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. I think Christ has now got the highest place in my 
heart ; and, Oh ! I pray God, he would always keep him there." 

v. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one 

die ; yet peradventure for a good man some would 

even dare to die. 

The history of the world will scarcely, perhaps, produce a 
well-authenticated instance of one fellow creature voluntarily 
and deliberately submitting himself to certain death to save 
the life of another ; nor does the thing appear warrantable. 
Many instances of noble heroism and generous benevolence, 
however, are recorded, among which the following is not the 
least remarkable : A great inundation having taken place in 
the north of Italy, owing to an excessive fall of snow in the 
Alps, followed by a speedy thaw, the river Adige carried away 
a bridge near Yerona, except the middle part, on which was 



ROMANS VI. 123 

the house of the toll-gatherer, who, with his whole family, 
thus remained imprisoned by the waves, and in momentary 
expectation of certain destruction. They were discovered from 
the banks, stretching forth their hands, screaming, and im- 
ploring succour ; while fragments of the only remaining arch 
were dropping into the impetuous torrent. In this extreme dan- 
ger, a nobleman, the Count of Palverini, who was a spectator, 
held out a purse of one hundred sequins, as a reward to any 
adventurer who would take a boat, and save this unhappy 
family. But the risk was so great of being borne down by 
the impetuosity of the stream, and being dashed against the 
fragments of the bridge, or being crushed by the falling of the 
heavy stones, that not one of the vast multitude of spectators 
had courage enough to attempt such an exploit. A peasant 
passing along, was informed of the promised reward. Imme- 
diately leaping into the boat, he, by amazing strength of arm, 
gained the middle of the river, and brought his boat under the 
pile, when the whole terrified family descended by means of 
a rope. " Courage !" cried he, " now you are safe !" By a 
still more strenuous effort, he brought the boat and family to 
shore. " Brave fellow !" exclaimed the Count, and holding 
out the purse to him, " there is your promised recompense." 
" I shall never expose my life for money," answered the pea- 
sant ; " my labour affords a sufficient livelihood for myself, 
my wife, and children ; give the purse to the poor family who 
have lost all." 

vi. 6 — Knowing this, that our old man is crucified 
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, 
that henceforth we should not serve sin. 

" Five persons," says Mr Brooks, " were studying what 
were the best means to mortify sin ; one said, to meditate on 
death ; the second, to meditate on judgment ; the third, to 
meditate on the joys of heaven ; the fourth, to meditate on the 
torments of hell ; the fifth, to meditate on the blood and suffer- 
ings of Jesus Christ ; and certainly the last is the choicest and 
strongest motive of all. If ever we would cast off our despair- 
ing thoughts, we must dwell and muse much upon, and apply 
this precious blood to our own souls ; so shall sorrow and 
mourning flee away." 

vi. 17. — Ye were the servants of sin, but ye have 



124 ROMANS VII. 

obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which 
was delivered you. 

A person who had expressed doubts, whether the negroes 
received any real advantage by hearing the gospel, was asked, 
whether he did not think one named Jack was better for the 
preaching? He replied, " Why, I must confess that he was 
a drunkard, a liar, and a thief, but, certainly, he is now a sober 
boy, and I can trust him with any thing ; and since he has 
talked about religion, I have tried to make him drunk, but fail- 
ed in the attempt." 

vii. 9. — I was alive without the law once ; but 
when the commandment came, sin revived, and I 
died. 

The following remarks of one of the christian negroes, may 
be considered as illustrative of the above passage : " Yester- 
day morning," said he, " when you preach, you show me 
that, the law be our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. You 
talk about the ten commandments. You begin at the first, 
and me say to myself, ' Me guilty !' the second; ' Me guilty!' 
the third ; * Me guilty !' the fourth ; ' Me guilty !' the fifth ; 
* Me guilty !' Then you say the sixth, I suppose plenty peo- 
ple live here, who say, — ' Me no guilty of that !' Me say again 
in my heart, ' Ah ! me no guilty !' ' Did you never hate any 
person ? Did you never wish that such a person, such a man or 
such a woman, was dead ?' Massa, you talk plenty about that ; 
and what I feel that time I can't tell you. I talk in my heart, 
and say, Me the same person. My heart begin to beat — me want 
to cry — my heart heave so much, me don't know what to do. 
Massa, me think me kill ten people before breakfast. I never 
think I so bad. Afterward you talk about the Lord Jesus 
Christ, how he take all our sins. I think I stand the same like 
a person that have a big stone upon him head, and can't walk 
— want to fall down. O Massa ! I have trouble too much — I 
no sleep all night, and wept much. I hope the Lord Jesus 
Christ will take my sins from me ! Suppose he no save me, I 
shall go to hell for ever." 

vii. 22, 23 For I delight in the law of God 

after the inward man. But I see another law in mv 



ROMANS VIII. 125 

members warring against the law of my mind, and 
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is 
in my members. 

The Rev. William Johnson, missionary in Africa, gives the 
following account : — " One woman was much distressed, and 
wept, and said that she had two hearts which troubled her so 
much, that she did not know what to do. One was the new 
heart, that told her all things that she had ever been doing-. The 
same heart told her she must go to Jesus Christ, and tell him 
all her sins, as she had heard at church ; but her old heart told 
her, ' Never mind, God no save black man, but white man. 
How know he died for black man ?' Her new heart said, ' Go, 
cry to him, and ask.' Old heart tell me, do my work first, 
fetch water, make fire, wash, and then go pray. When work 
done, then me forget to pray. I don't know what I do.' I 
read to her the seventh chapter to the Romans, and showed 
that the Apostle Paul felt the same things, and spoke of two 
principles in man. When I came to the verse, O wretched man 
that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? 
she said, ' Ah, Massa, that me — me no know what to do.' I 
added the words of St Paul — I thank God, through Jesus Christ; 
and explained to her the love of Christ, how he died for sinners 
like her ; she burst into tears ; and has continued ever since, 
so far as I know, to follow her Saviour." 

viii. 26. — Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our in- 
firmities ; for we know not what we should pray for 
as we ought. 

Mr C , a pious gentleman lately deceased, was on a 

visit to an intimate friend, whose sister, a pious lady, was lying 
on her death-bed. Religion, together with the means of pro- 
moting its growth in the heart, formed the subject of conver- 
sation. Mr C having taken occasion to recommend the 

duty of family worship, his friend remarked, that he was sensi- 
ble of the importance of the duty ; but having hitherto been a 
stranger to the practice of it, he felt a difficulty in commencing 

it ; that, however, if Mr C would assist him in getting over 

that difficulty by giving the duty a beginning, he would after- 
wards endeavour to continue the practice of it. To such a 
mind as Mr C.'s this proposal was embarrassing. If he com- 



126 ROMANS IX. 

plied with it, he knew he had no resource but to undertake 
the duty without the customary help of a prayer-book ; and 
from this his modesty revolted. If he declined it, he had rea- 
son to apprehend that his declining it might operate unfavour- 
ably on his friend's establishment and growth in grace. The 
possibility of sueh a result he could not suffer to be hazarded. 
In the option of difficulties, the benevolent desire of usefulness 
prevailed. The family was convened at the hour of prayer; 
and their guest presided in their family worship. At first he 
was somewhat agitated, and his voice began to faulter. But 
his mind soon recovered its tone, and the solemn duty was 
performed with ease and with propriety. The success which 
attended this first attempt, encouraged him to lay his for- 
mulary aside ; and experience soon taught him, that when 
the spirit of devotion in truth prevails, there is rarely any dif- 
ficulty in giving expression to the feelings which it excites. 

viii. 28. — All things work together for good to 

them that love God. 

When the Rev. Bernard Gilpin was on his way to London, 
to be tried before the popish party, he broke his leg by a fall, 
which put a stop for some time to his journey. The person 
in whose custody he was, took occasion from this circumstance 
to retort upon him an observation he used frequently to make, 
" That nothing happens to us but what is intended for our 
good." He answered meekly, " He made no question but it 
was. ' And, indeed, so it proved ; for before he was able to 
travel, Queen Mary died. Being thus providentially rescued, 
he returned to Houghton through crowds of people, expressing 
the utmost joy, and blessing God for his deliverance. 

ix. 14. — What shall we say then ? Is there un- 
righteousness with God ? God forbid. 

A pious gentleman was once called to visit an unhappy old 
man, who lay at the point of death. For several years he had 
been an avowed infidel. He had been accustomed to scoff at 
Scripture ; but he principally exercised his profane wit in ridi- 
culing the justice of God, and the future punishment of the 
wicked. He died convinced, but not converted. His death 
was truly awful. With his last quivering breath he exclaimed, 
* 4 Now 1 know there is a hell, for 1 feel it!" and expired. It 
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 



ROMANS X. 127 

ix. 22, 23 What if God, willing to show his 

wrath, and to make his power known, endured with 
much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to 
destruction ; and that he might make known the 
riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he 
had afore prepared unto glory. 

A certain minister, having changed his views of some parts 
of divine truth, was waited upon by an old acquaintance, who 
wished to reclaim him to his former creed. Finding he could 
not succeed in his object, he became warm, and told his friend 
in plain terms that God had given him " up to strong delu- 
sion," and that he was " a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction." 
" I think, brother," replied the one who was charged with the 
departure from the faith, with great calmness, " I think, bro- 
ther, that you have mistaken the sense of the passage you last 
referred to. Vessels are denominated according to their con- 
tents. A chemist, in conducting a stranger through his labo- 
ratory, would say, ' This is a vessel of turpentine, that of vi- 
triol, &c. always giving to the vessel the name of the article it 
contains. Now, when 1 see a man full of the holy and lovely 
spirit of Christ, devoted to his service, and imitating his ex- 
ample, I say that man is a vessel of mercy, whom God hath 
afore prepared unto glory ; but when I see a man full of every 
thing but the spirit of the Bible — opposed to the moral govern- 
ment of God — seeking his own things rather than those which 
are Christ's — and filled with malice, wrath, and all uncharit- 
ableness, I am compelled to consider him ' a vessel of wrath, 
fitted to destruction.'" 

x. 10.— With the heart man believeth unto righte- 
ousness ; and with the mouth confession is made 
unto salvation. 

There was one Victorinus, famous in Rome for teaching 
rhetoric to the senators : this man in his old age was convert- 
ed to Christianity, and came to Simplicianus, who was an emi- 
nent man, whispering softly in his ears these words : " I am a 
Christian;" but this holy man answered, " I will not believe 
it, nor count thee so, till I see thec among the Christians in 
the church." At which he laughed, saying, " Do then tho^e 



128 ROMANS XI. 

walls make a Christian ? Cannot I be such except I openly 
profess it, and let the world know the same f n A while after, 
being more confirmed in the faith, and considering that, if he 
should thus continue ashamed of Christ, Christ would be 
ashamed of him in the last day, he changed his language, and 
came to Simplicianus, saying, " Let us go to the church ; I 
will now in earnest be a Christian." And there, though a pri- 
vate profession of his faith might have been sufficient, yet he 
chose to make it open, saying, " That he had openly professed 
rhetoric, which was not a matter of salvation, and should he be 
afraid to own the word of God in the congregation of the faith- 
ful?" 

x. 17 Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by 

the word of God. 

A very poor woman in Edinburgh, who was so nearly blind 
as not to be able to peruse the Bible, could get no one to read 
it to her. She was greatly distressed to live day after day 
without the comfort and direction of this blessed book. She 
thought of many plans, and made many inquiries, but all in 
vain. At last she made a bargain with another woman to read 
to her a chapter every night ; and for this service she paid her 
a penny a- week out of her scanty pittance." 

xi. 19, 20. — Thou wilt say then, The branches 
were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well, 
because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou 
standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. 

" Had I," says D'Israeli, " to sketch the situation of the 
Jews in the ninth century, and to exhibit at the same time the 
character of that age of bigotry, could I do it more effectually, 
than by the following anecdote, which a learned friend dis- 
covered in some manuscript records : — * A Jew at Rouen, in 
Normandy, sells a house to a christian inhabitant of that city. 
After some time of residence, a storm happens, lightning falls 
on the house, and does considerable damage. The Christian, 
unenlightened and villanous, cites the trembling descendant of 
Israel into court for damages. His eloquent advocate hurls an 
admirable phillippic against this detestable nation of heretics, and 
concludes, by proving that it was owing to this house having been 
the interdicted property of an Israelite, that a thunderbolt fell 



ROMANS XII. 129 

upon the roof. The judges, as it may be supposed, were not 
long in terminating this suit. They decreed that God had 
damaged this house as a mark of his vengeance against the 
property of a Jew, and that therefore it was just the repairs 
should be at his cost !' " 

xi. 36. — For of him, and through him, and to him, 
are all things. 

" I have read of an author," says Mr Ashburner, " who, 
whilst he was writing a book he was about to publish, would 
every now and then look back to the title, to see if his work 
corresponded thereto, and if it answered the expectation raised 
thereby. Now the use I would make hereof, and would re- 
commend to you is, for thee, O sinner, to look back every now 
and then, and consider for what thou wast created; and for thee, 
O saint, to look back every now and then, and consider for 
what thou wast redeemed." 

xii. 1 1 — Not slothful in business, fervent in spi- 
rit, serving the Lord. 

Mr Cruden, during the last year of his life, lived in terms 
of the strictest intimacy with the Rev. David Wilson, minister 
of the Presbyterian congregation, Bow Lane, London. The 
two friends were in the habit of paying frequent visits to Mr 
Gordon, a pious nurseryman in the neighbourhood of the me- 
tropolis. One evening Mr Gordon informed Mr Wilson, that 
a young Scottish gardener in his employment, who usually at- 
tended divine service at Bow Lane, sometimes absented him- 
self from public worship without a sufficient cause, and was 
besides rather indolent, desiring the minister to admonish him. 
The young man was accordingly called into the parlour, and 
Mr Wilson concluded a solemn address with these words : 
" Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy." " Have you 
done, Sir?"' said Mr Cruden. " Yes," replied Mr Wilson. 
*' Then," rejoined Mr Cruden, " you have forgotten one half 
of the commandment : Six days shalt thou labour, and do all 
thy work, &c. ; for if a man does not labour six days of the 
week, he is not likely to rest properly on the seventh." 

xii. 20. — If thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he 
thirst, give him drink. 



130 ROMANS XIII. 

A slave in one of the West India Islands, who had been 
brought from Africa, became a Christian, and behaved so well 
that his master raised him to a situation of great trust on hi 
estate. He once employed him to select twenty slaves in thj 
market, with the view of making a purchase. While looking 
at some who were offered, he perceived an old broken down 
slave, and immediately told his master that he wished very 
much that he might be one of the number to be bought. The 
master was much surprised, and at first refused ; but the slave 
begged so hard that his wish might be granted, that the mas- 
ter allowed the purchase to be made. The slaves were soon 
taken to the plantation, and the master, with some degree of 
wonder, observed his servant pay the greatest attention to the 
old African. He took him to his house, laid him on his own 
bed, and fed him at his own table. When it was cold, he car- 
ried him into the sunshine, and when it was hot, he placed him 
under the shade of the cocoa-trees. The master supposed 
that the old man must be some relation to his favourite, 
and asked him if he were his father. " Sir, massa," said the 
poor fellow, " he no my fader." "Is he then an elder bro- 
ther ?" " No, massa." " Perhaps your uncle, or some other 
relation ?" " No, massa, he no be of my kindred at all, not 
even my friend." " Why then," asked the master, " do you 
treat him so kindly ?" " He my enemy, massa," replied the 
slave ; "he sold me to the slave-dealer ; my Bible tell me, 
when my enemy hunger, feed him ; when he thirst, give him 
drink." 

xiii. 11 — Now is our salvation nearer than when 

we believed. 

Mr Venn, in one of his excursions to preach for the Countess 
of Huntingdon, while riding on the road, fell into company 
with a person who had the appearance of a clergyman. After 
riding together for some time, conversing on different subjects, 
the stranger, looking in his face, said, " Sir, I think you are 
on the wrong side of fifty. " " On the wrong side of fifty !" an- 
swered Mr Venn, " No, Sir, I am on the right side of fifty." 
" Surely," the clergyman replied, " you must be turned of 
fifty." " Yes, Sir," added Mr Venn, " but I am on the right 
side of fifty, for I am nearer my crown of glory." 

xiii. 9. — Thou shalt not kill. 

The Rev. Ebcnezer Erskine, after travelling at one time, 



KOMANS XIV. 131 

toward the end of the week, from Portmoak to the banks of 
the Forth, on his way to Edinburgh, w r as, with several others, 
prevented by a storm from crossing that frith. Thus obliged 
to remain in Fife during the Sabbath, he was employed to 
preach, it is believed, in Kinghorn. Conformably to his usual 
practice, he prayed earnestly in the morning for the divine 
countenance and aid in the work of the day ; but suddenly 
missing his note-book, he knew not what to do. His thoughts, 
however, were directed to the command, " Thou shalt not 
kill ; " and having studied the subject with as much care as the 
time would permit, he delivered a short sermon on it in the 
forenoon. Having returned to his lodging, he gave strict in- 
junctions to the servant that no one should be allowed to see 
him during the interval of worship. A stranger, however, who 
was also one of the persons detained by the state of the weather, 
expressed an earnest desire to see the minister ; and having 
with difficulty obtained admittance, appeared much agitated, 
and asked him, with great eagerness, whether he knew him, or 
had ever seen or heard of him. On receiving assurance that 
he was totally unacquainted with his face, character, and his- 
tory, the gentleman proceeded to state, that his sermon on the 
sixth commandment had reached his conscience ; that he was a 
murderer ; that being the second son of a Highland laird, he 
had some time before, from base and selfish motives, cruelly 
suffocated his elder brother, who slept in the same bed with 
him ; and that now he had no peace of mind, and wished to 
surrender himself to justice, to suffer the punishment due to 
his horrid and unnatural crime. Mr Erskine asked him if any 
other person knew any thing of his guilt. His answer was, 
that so far as he was aware, not a single individual had the 
least suspicion of it ; on which the good man exhorted him to 
be deeply affected with a sense of his atrocious sin, to make an 
immediate application to the blood of sprinkling, and to bring 
forth fruits meet for repentance ; but at the same time, since, 
in providence, his crime had hitherto remained a secret, not to 
disclose it, or give himself up to public justice. The unhappy 
gentleman embraced this well intended counsel in all its parts, 
became truly pious, and maintained a friendly correspondence 
with Mr Erskine in future life. 

xiv. 8. — Whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; 
and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. 

The following lines, which Dr Doddridge wrote on the 



132 ROMANS XIV. 

motto of his family arms, have been much admired, as express 
ing, in a lively and pointed manner, the genuine spirit of a 
faithful servant of God. Dr Johnson, when speaking- of this 
epigram, praised it as one of the finest in the English language. 
" Whilst we live, let us live," was the motto of the family arms ; 
on which the Doctor wrote — 

" Live whilst you live," the Epicure would say, 

And seize the pleasures of the present day. 

" Live whilst you live," the sacred preacher cries, 

And give to God each moment as it flies. 

Lord, in my views, let both united be ; 

I live in pleasure whilst I live to thee. 

xiv. 12 — Every one of us shall give an account 
of himself to God. 

The late Rev. Herbert Mends of Plymouth, speaking of his 
early religious impressions, says, " If any particular circum- 
stance might be considered as making a more deep, lasting, 
and serious impression, than others, it was a dream which I 
had when at school at Ottery. I felt the apprehension of the 
approach of the last great judgment-day. I well remember all 
the attending circumstances ; and observed that they were per- 
fectly corresponding to the description of that awful event, re- 
corded in the Gospel of Matthew. After I had perceived vast 
multitudes of the human race appearing before the throne of 
Christ, some being approved, and others rejected, I at length 
beheld my beloved father and mother, and several of the family, 
summoned to appear. Great agitation was awakened in my 
breast ; but I heard them distinctly examined, and as distinctly 
heard the Judge say, ' Well do?ie,' &c. At this period, my 
whole soul was filled with horror indescribable, being conscious 
that I was not prepared to pass my final scrutiny. At length 
my name was announced, and I felt all the agonies of a mind 
fully expecting to be banished from the presence of God, and 
the glory of his power. The Judge then, with a stern coun- 
tenance, and in language which struck me with mingled shame 
and hope, said, ' Well, what sayest thou ?' I fell at his feet, 
and implored mercy, and uttered these words : * Lord, spare 
me yet a little longer, and when thou shalt call for me again, I 
hope to be ready.' "With a smile, which tranquillized my spi- 
rits, the Lord replied, ' Go then, and improve the time given 
thee.' The extreme agitation of my mind awoke me. But so 
deep was the impression, that I have never forgotten it : in- 
deed, I soon after arose, and committed the whole to paper, 



ROMANS XVI. 133 

with many other attendant circumstances, not proper to be here 
recorded." 

xv. 20, 21. — Yea, so have I strived to preach the 

gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should 

build upon another man's foundation : But as it is 

written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall 

see : and they that have not heard shall understand. 

" The last time I was with Mr Grimshaw," says Mr New- 
ton, "as we were standing together upon a hill near Haworth, 
and surveying the romantic prospect around us, he expressed 
himself to the following purport, and I believe I nearly retain 
his very words, for they made a deep impression upon me 

while he spoke ' When I first came into this country, if I 

had gone half a day's journey on horseback towards the east, 
west, north, and south, I could not have met with or hear of 
one truly serious person ; — but now, through the blessing of 
God upon the poor services of the most unworthy of his minis- 
ters, besides a considerable number whom I have seen or known 
to have departed this life, like Simeon, rejoicing in the Lord's 
salvation ; and besides five dissenting churches or congrega- 
tions, of which the ministers, and nearly every one of the mem- 
bers, were first awakened under my ministry ; I have still at 
my sacrament, if the weather is favourable, from three to five 
hundred communicants, of the far greater part of whom, so far 
as man, who cannot see the heart, and can therefore only de- 
termine by appearances, profession, and conduct, may judge, 
I can give almost as particular an account as I can of myself. 
I know the state of their progress in religion. By my frequent 
visits and converse with them, I am acquainted with their se- 
veral temptations, trials, and exercises, both personal and do- 
mestic, both spiritual and temporal, almost as intimately as if I 
had lived in their families.' " 

xvi. 5. — Greet the church that is in their house. 

A family in which the worship of God is observed, morning 
and evening, may, in a subordinate sense, be called " A church 
in the house." The following is an instance of the advantages 
of family worship. — An old servant of a respectable family, 
having been constrained to give herself to the public profession 
of the gospel, by commemorating with a christian church the 



I 



\ 



134 1 CORINTHIANS I. 

dying love of Christ, said that she was first excited to give re 
ligion a serious attention, by the habitual observance of famil 
worship. Here her mind was prepared to receive those im- 
pressions which laid the foundation of permanent religious cha- 
racter, and " a good hope through grace." 

xvi. 26. — But now is made manifest, and by the 
scriptures of the prophets, according to the com- 
mandment of the everlasting God, made known to 
all nations for the obedience of faith. 

In Iceland, a custom prevails among the people, of spend- 
ing their long evenings in a manner which must powerfull 
tend to promote their religious improvement. The whole fa- 
mily assembles at dusk around the lamp, every one except the 
reader having some kind of work to perform. The reader is 
frequently interrupted, either by the head, or some of the most 
intelligent members of the family, who make remarks on vari- 
ous parts of the story, and propose questions, with a view to 
exercise the ingenuity of the children and servants. In this 
kind of exercise, the Bible is preferred to every other book. 
Before separating, a prayer is offered up, and the evening 
closed with singing a psalm. 



1 CORINTHIANS. 

Chap. i. 17. — 'Not with wisdom of words, lest the 
cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 

The Rev. J. Thorowgood, a dissenting minister in England, 
though a learned critic himself, did not approve of introducing 
any parade of criticism into the pulpit. In a letter to an inti- 
mate friend, written in the first year of his ministry, he men- 
tions an instance of his indiscretion one time in preaching : — 
" I bite my lips," says he, " with vexation at my folly last 
Lord's day. I was preaching upon a very alarming subject. 
My people were all silence and attention, when, in the midst 
of an important theme, I meanly stopped to divert them with 



I CORINTHIANS II. 135 

a trifling criticism. O, how did I blush at ray folly ! — This I 
mention, my dear friend, for your caution." 

i. 24 Christ the power of God, and the wisdom 

of God. 

Two of Dr Priestly's followers, eminent men, once called 
on an old gentlemen of the Society of Friends, to ask what 
was his opinion of the person of Christ. After a little con- 
sideration, he replied: — " The apostle says, We preach Christ 
crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, because they ex- 
pected a temporal Messiah ; to the Greeks foolishness, because 
he was crucified as a malefactor ; but unto them which are call- 
ed, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the 
wisdom of God. Now, if you can separate the power of God 
from God, and the wisdom of God from God, 1 will come over 
to your opinions." — They were both struck dumb, and did 
not attempt to utter a single word in reply. 

ii. 4 My speech and my preaching was not with 

enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstra- 
tion of the Spirit and of power. 

It is related of Dr Manton, that having to preach before the 
Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, he chose a subject in 
which he had an opportunity of displaying his learning and 
judgment. He was heard with admiration and applause by the 
intelligent part of his audience ; but as he was returning from 
dinner with the Lord Mayor, a poor man following him, pulled 
him by the sleeve of his gown, and asked him if he was the 
gentleman that preached before the Lord Mayor. He replied 
he was. " Sir," said he, " I came with hopes of getting some 
good to my soul, but I was greatly disappointed, for I could 
not understand a great deal of what you said ; you were quite 
above my comprehension." " Friend," said the doctor, "if I 
have not given you a sermon, you have given me one : By the 
grace of God, I will not play the fool in such a manner 
again." 

ii. 13. — Which things also we speak, not in the 
words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the 
Holy Ghost teacheth. 

Some time after the conversion of Mr John Cotton, it came 



136 1 CORINTHIANS III. 

to his turn to preach at St Mary's, when a high expectation 
from his known abilities was raised through the University, 
that they should have a sermon set off with all the learning and 
eloquence of the place. Mr Cotton had now many difficulties 
in his own mind concerning the course he was to pursue. On 
the one hand he considered, that if he should preach with a 
scriptural and christian plainness, he should not only wound 
his own fame, but also tempt carnal men to revive an old cavil, 
That religion made scholars turn dunces ; whereby the honour 
of God might suffer not a little. On the other hand he con- 
sidered, that it was his duty to preach with such plainness as 
became the oracles of the living God. He therefore resolved 
to preach a plain sermon ; such a one as he might in his own 
conscience think would be most pleasing to the Lord Jesus 
Christ ; and accordingly he did so. But when he had finished, 
the wits of the University discovered their resentment, by their 
not humming, as according to their absurd custom they had 
formerly done; and the vice-chancellor, too, showed much dis- 
satisfaction. He had, however, many encouragements from 
some doctors, who, having a better sense of religion, prayed 
him to persevere in that good way of preaching he had now 
taken. But the greatest consolation was, that by the sermon 
he became a spiritual father to Dr Preston, one of the most 
eminent men of his time. 

iii. 2. — I have fed you with milk, and not with 
meat : for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, 
neither yet now are ye able. 

At a meeting held at Wittemberg by the leading parties of 
the Reformation, with a view to promote the harmony of the 
whole, it was agreed that Albert Bucer, and Luther, should be 
the preachers. At the close of the services, Luther requested 
Bucer to be his guest, to which Bucer readily acceded. In 
the course of the evening, Luther found an opportunity to 
make his remarks on the sermon delivered by his sage friend. 
He spoke highly in its praises, but added, " Bucer, I can preach 
better than you" Such an observation sounded oddly to the 
ear of his friend, who, however, took it in good part, and 
readily replied, " Every person of course will agree, that Luther 
should bear the palm " Luther immediately changed his tone 
of voice, and with indescribable seriousness addressed his friend 
to this effect : Do not mistake me, my dear brother, as though 



I CORINTHIANS III. 137 

I spoke merely in the praise of myself. I am fully aware of 
my weakness, and am conscious of my inability to deliver a 
sermon so learned and judicious, as the one I have heard from 
your lips this afternoon. But my method is, when T enter the 
pulpit, to look at the people that sit in the aisles ; because they 
are principally Vandals. — (By this term he meant the ignorant 
common people, and alluded to the circumstance of those parts 
having been formerly over-run by hordes of savage Vandals.) 
I keep my eye on the Vandals, and endeavour to preach what 
they can comprehend. But you shot over their heads ; your 
sermon was adapted for learned hearers, but my Vandals could 
not understand you. I compare them to a crying babe, who 
is sooner satisfied with the breast of its mother, than with the 
richest confectionaries ; so my people are more nourished by 
the simple word of the gospel, than by the deepest erudition, 
though accompanied with all the embellishments of eloquence." 

iii. 21, 22. — All things are yours; whether Paul, 
or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, 
or things present, or things to come ; all are yours. 

Dr Stonehouse, who attended Mr Hervey during his last ill- 
ness, seeing the great difficulty and pain Avith which he spoke, 
and finding by his pulse, that the pangs of death were then 
coming on, desired that he would spare himself: " No," said 
he, " Doctor, no : You tell me I have but a few minutes to 
live ; O ! let me spend them in adoring our great Redeemer. 
Though my flesh and my heart fail me, yet God is the strength 
of my heart, and my portion for ever." He then expatiated in 
the most striking manner on these words of Paul, " All things 
are yours; life and death; things present, and things to come ; 
all are yours; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." 
" Here," says he, " is the treasure of a Christian, and a noble 
treasure it is. Death is reckoned in this inventory : how 
thankful am I for it, as it is the passage through which I get 
to the Lord and giver of eternal life ; and as it frees me from 
all the misery you see me now endure, and which I am willing 
to endure as long as God thinks fit ; for I know he will by and 
by, in his good time, dismiss me from the body. These light 
afflictions are but for a moment, and then comes an eternal 
weight of glory. O welcome, welcome, death ! thou may est 
well be reckoned among the treasures of the Christian. To 
live is Christ, but to die is gain." 



138 I CORINTHIANS V. 

iv. 4, — For I know nothing by myself; yet am I 

not hereby justified; but he that judge th me is the 

Lord. 

The celebrated Mr Shepherd, when on his death-bed, said to 
some young ministers who had come to see him, " Your work is 
great, and calls for great seriousness." With respect to him- 
self, he told these three things : First, That the studying of his 
sermons very frequently cost him tears. Secondly, Before he 
preached any sermon to others, he got good by it himself. And, 
Thirdly, That he always went to the pulpit, as if he were im- 
mediately after to render an account to his Master. 

iv. 1 3 Being defamed, we entreat ; we are made 

as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of 

all things unto this day. 

" One Sabbath afternoon," says Mr Lacey, a missionary in 
the East Indies, " the people were extremely violent, shouting, 
4 A lie ! a lie !' at every word spoken. Some called aloud, to 
drown my voice ; others made impudent gestures, and ex- 
cited a loud obscene laugh ; and, in short, all means of diverting 
the attention of the hearers were resorted to. Some few, I 
observed, were more backward in the crowd, more serious, and 
seemed to feel the force of truth ; these encouraged me to pro- 
ceed. Upon others, persecution seemed to make a favourable 
impression : these came and complained of the folly and ignor- 
ance of the mob ; and soon had their mouths stopped by hearing, 
* Ah ! are you of the cast, to blaspheme the mara poboo ? It 
is blaspheming to hear the idiot's words, come away !' The 
epithets, fool, thief, liar, &c. were liberally bestowed this eve- 
ning. Brother Bampton came up, followed by a mob, shouting 
him away. We both retired together, amidst the shouts and 
hisses of the multitude, and a shower of dust and broken pots." 

v. 8. — Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, 
neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; 
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and 
truth. 

General Burn, in recording his experience, says, " One 
Lord's day, when I was to receive the sacrament, before I ap- 



I CORINTHIANS V. 139 

proached that sacred ordinance, my conscience so keenly ac- 
| cusedme on account of this beloved idol (playing at cards) that 
I hardly knew what to do with myself. I tried to pacify it by 
a renewal of all my resolutions, with many additions and amend- 
ments. I parleyed and reasoned the matter over for hours, 
trying, if possible, to come to some terms of accommodation, 
but still the obstinate monitor within cried out, * There's an 
Achan in the camp ; approach the table of the Lord if you dare !' 
Scared at the threat, and yet unwilling to part with my darling 
lust, I became like one possessed. Restless and uneasy, I flew 
out of the house to vent my misery with more freedom in the 
fields under the wide canopy of heaven. Here I was led to 
meditate on the happiness of the righteous, and the misery of 
the wicked in a future state. The importance of eternity fall- 
ing with a ponderous weight upon my soul, raised such vehe- 
ment indignation against the accursed thing within, that crying 
to God for help, I kneeled down under a hedge, and taking 
Heaven and Earth to witness, wrote on a piece of paper with 
my pencil a solemn vow, that I never would play at cards, on 
any pretence whatsoever, so long as I lived. No sooner had I 
put my name to that solemn vow, than I felt myself another 
creature. Sorrow took wing and flew away, and a delightful 
peace succeeded. The intolerable burden being removed from 
my mind, I approached the sacred table of the Lord with an 
unusual degree of pleasure and delight. This was not my 
only idol. I had many others to contend with. But while I 
was endeavouring to heal my wounded soul in one place, ere I 
was aware sin broke out in another." 

v. 9> 10. — I wrote unto you in an epistle, not to 

company with fornicators. Yet not altogether with 

the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous 

or extortioners, or with idolators; for then must ye 

needs go out of the world. 

Mr Robert Blair, in a memoir of his Hfe, written by himself, 
says, " That year (1616) having, upon an evening, been en- 
gaged in company with some irreligious persons, when I re- 
turned to my chamber, and went to my ordinary devotion, the 
Lord did show so much displeasure and wrath, that I was 
driven from prayer, and heavily threatened to be deserted of 
God : For this 1 had a restless night, and resolved to spend 
the next day in extraordinary humiliation, fasting, and prayer; 



140 I CORINTHIANS Vi- 

and, toward the evening of that day, I found access to God, 
with sweet peace, through Jesus Christ, and learned to beware 
of such company ; but then I did run into another extreme of 
rudeness and incivility toward such as were profane and irreli- 
gious, so hard a thing is it for short-sighted sinners to hold the 
right and the straight way." 

vi. 7. — There is utterly a fault among you, because 
ye go to law one with another : why do ye not ra- 
ther take wrong ? why do ye not rather suffer your- 
selves to be defrauded ? 

Mr Philip Henry relates a remarkable story concerning a 
good old friend of his, who when young, being an orphan, was 
greatly wronged by his uncle. His portion, which was L. 200, 
was put into the hands of that uncle ; who, when he grew up, 
shuffled with him, and would give him but L. 40, instead of his 
L. 200, and he had no way of recovering his right but by law ; 
but, before he would engage in that, he was willing to advise 
with his minister, who was the famous Dr Twissof Newberry; 
the counsel he gave him, all things considered, was, for peace 
sake, and for the preventing of sin, and snares, and troubles, 
to take the L.40, rather than contend; " and Thomas, 1 ' said 
the doctor, " if thou dost so, assure thyself, that God will 
make it up to thee and thine some other way, and they that 
defraud will be the losers by it at last." He did so, and it 
pleased God so to bless that little which he began the world 
with, that when he died in a good old age, he left his son pos- 
sessed of some hundreds a-year, whilst he that had wronged 
him fell into poverty. 

vi. 40. — Drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom 
of God. 

A parent once said to a Sabbath school teacher, " O Sir ! 
I am very glad that you have got a school for boys on Sunday 
nights. I had such a reprimand and sermon from my little lad 
the other night, as I never had before in my life. After he 
came home last Sunday night, he sat down very thoughtful, 
and at last began to cry, and said, ' O father ! if you go and 
get drunk, you will go to hell ; and if I were to go to heaven, 
and sec you on the left hand, O how shall I cry. and wish you 
to come to rac ! " 



1 CORINTHIANS VIII. 141 

vii. 16. — What knowest thou, O wife, whether 
thou shalt save thy husband ? 

A lady in Germany, who had been a sincere follower of 
Christ, but whose husband was still unrenewed, was very much 
afflicted on his account, and told a clergyman that she had done 
all in her power in persuading and beseeching him to turn from 
his evil practices, to no effect. " Madam," said he, " Talk 
more to God about your husband, and less to your husband 
about God." A few weeks after, the lady called upon him, 
full of joy that her prayers to God had been heard, and that a 
change was wrought upon her husband. 

vii. 29, 30. — It remaineth, that both they that 

have wives be as though they had none ; — and they 

that buy as though they possessed not. 

" Being with my friend in a garden," says Mr Flavel, " we 
gathered each of us a rose. He handled his tenderly ; smelt 
it but seldom, and sparingly. I always kept mine to my nose, 
or squeezed it in my hand ; whereby, in a very short time, it 
lost both its colour and sweetness : but his still remained as 
sweet and fragrant as if it had been growing upon its own root. 
These roses, said I, are the true emblems of the best and 
sweetest creature enjoyments in the world, — which, being mo- 
derately and cautiously used and enjoyed, may for a long time 
yield sweetness to the possessor of them ; but, if once the affec- 
tions seize too greedily upon them, and squeeze them too hard, 
they quickly wither in our hands, and we lose the comfort of 
them ; and that, either through the soul surfeiting upon them, 
or the Lord's righteous and just removal of them, because of 
the excess of our affections to them. 

viii. 3. — If any man love God, the same is known 
of him. 

An aged Christian, in great distress of mind, was once com- 
plaining to a friend of his miserable condition ; and, among 
other things, said, " That which troubles me most is, that God 
will be dishonoured by my fall." His friend hastily caught at 
this, and used it for the purpose of comforting him : — " Art 
thou careful of the honour of God ? And dost thou think that 
God hath no care of thee, and of thy salvation ? A soul for- 



s 



142 I CORINTHIANS X. 

saken of God cares not what becomes of the honour of God ; 
therefore be of good cheer ; if God s heart were not towards 
thee, thine would not be towards God, or towards the remem- 
brance of his name." 

viii. 13. — If meat make my brother to offend, 
will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make 
my brother to offend. 

" A chief of Huahine once asked me," says Mr Ellis, mis- 
sionary to the South Sea Islands, " whether it would be right, 
supposing he was walking in his garden on that day (the Sab- 
bathj, and saw ripe plantains hanging from the trees that grew 
by the side of the path, to gather and eat them ; I answered, 
that I thought it would not be wrong. ' I felt inclined to d 
so, said he, last Sabbath, when walking in my garden, but on 
reflecting that I had other fruit ready plucked and prepared, I 
hesitated, not because I believed it would be in itself sinful, 
but lest my attendants should notice it, and do so too, and it 
should be a general practice with the people to go to their 
gardens, and gather fruit on the Sabbath, which would be very 
unfavourable to the proper observance of that sacred day.' " 

ix. 25. — They doit to obtain a corruptible crown, 

but we an incorruptible. 

The Rev. H. Davies, sometimes called " The Welsh Apos- 
tle," was walking early one Sabbath morning, to a place where 
he was to preach. He was overtaken by a clergyman on horse- 
back, who complained that he could not get above half-a-guinea 
for a discourse. " O Sir," said Mr Davies, " I preach for a 
crown !" " Do you ?" replied the stranger, " then you are a 
disgrace to the cloth." To this rude observation, he returned 
this meek answer, " Perhaps I shall be held in still greater dis- 
grace, in your estimation, when I inform you that I am now- 
going nine miles to preach, and have but sevenpence in my 
pocket to bear my expenses out and in ; but I look forward to 
that crown of glory which my Lord and Saviour will freely be- 
stow upon me, when he makes his appearance before an assem- 
bled world." 

x. 13. — God is faithful, who will not suffer you to 
be tempted abo'^ e that ye are able : but will, with 



I CORINTHIANS XI. 143 

the temptation, also make a way of escape, that ye 
may be able to bear it. 

When Bishops Latimer and Ridley, who were burnt at Ox- 
ford, in 1555, were brought to the stake, Latimer lifted up his 
eyes, with a sweet and amiable countenance, saying, " God is 
faithful, who will not suffer us to be tempted above that which 
we are able." When they were brought to the fire, on a spot 
of ground on the north of Baliol College, where, after an abu- 
sive sermon, being told by an officer that they might now make 
ready for the stake, Latimer, having thrown off his prison at- 
tire, appeared in a shroud prepared for the purpose ; " And 
whereas before," says Fox, " he seemed a withered and crook- 
ed old man, he stood now bolt upright, as comely a father as 
one might behold." Being thus ready, he recommended his 
soul to God, and delivered himself to the executioner, say- 
ing to his fellow sufferer, " We shall this day, brother, light 
such a candle in England as shall never be put out." 

x. 24. — Let no man seek his own, but every man 

another's wealth. 

Mr Howe, when Chaplain to Cromwell, was applied to for 
protection by men of all parties, in those eventful times ; and 
it is said of him that he never refused his assistance to any per- 
son of worth, whatever might be his religious tenets. " Mr 
Howe," said the protector to his chaplain, " you have asked 
favours for every body besides yourself, pray when does your 
turn come?" " My turn, my Lord Protector," said Mr Howe, 
" is always come, when I can serve another." 

xi. 24. — Take, eat ; this is my body, which is 

broken for you. 

A Roman Catholic gentleman in England being engaged to 
marry a Protestant lady, it was mutually agreed that there 
should be no contests on the subject of religion. For some 
years after their union, this agreement was scrupulously ob- 
served ; but, in the course of time, the priest, who had paid 
them frequent visits, expecting to find no difficulty in making 
a convert of the lady, began to talk about the peculiarities of 
his religion. He particularly insisted upon the doctrine of tran- 
substantiation, and grew troublesome by his importunity. To 
avoid being farther teased by him, she one day seemed to be 






144 I CORINTHIANS XII. 

overcome by his arguments, and agreed to attend at mass with 
her husband the following Sabbath, provided she might be al- 
lowed to prepare the wafer herself. The priest, not suspect' 
ing any thing, and glad on any terms to secure such a convert, 
gave his consent. The lady accordingly appeared at the chapel 
with her husband ; and, after the consecration of the wafers 
which she had brought with her, she solemnly demanded of th 
priest, whether it was really converted into the body of Christ? 
to which question he without hesitation replied, That there was 
a conversion made of the whole substance of the bread into the 
body of Christ, and that there remained no more of its form or 
substance. " If this be really the case," said she, " you may 
eat the wafer without any danger ; but as for myself I should 
be afraid to touch it, as it is mixed with arsenic." The priesf 
was overwhelmed by a discovery so unexpected, and was to' 
wise to hazard his life upon a doctrine for which he had, how- 
ever, contended with all the earnestness of perfect assurance. 
The lady's husband was so struck by this practical confutation 
of a doctrine which he had before implicitly believed, that he 
never afterwards appeared at the mass. 

xi. 30.- — For this cause many are weak and sickly 
among you, and many sleep. 

When Mr Joseph Woodward, one of the nonconformist mi- 
nisters in England, was settled in Dursley, he vigorously set 
about the reformation of many disorders in discipline and man- 
ners that existed among the people. In particular, he declared 
his resolution to admit none to the Lord's Supper, but those 
who, besides a visible probity of conversation, had a competent 
knowledge of divine things. A certain person said, " He would 
not submit to examination; and if Mr Woodward would not 
give him the sacrament, he would take it !" In pursuance of 
his impious resolution, this man was coming to church on the 
sacrament-day, but he had scarcely set one foot over the thres- 
hold before he fell down dead. 

xii 2. — Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried 
away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 

British Christians ought to recollect, that their ancestors 
were once blind idolators, serving them that by nature are no 
gods. Dr Plaifere, in a sermon preached before the Univer- 



1 CORINTHIANS XIII. 145 

sity of Cambridge, in 1573, remarks, " that before the preach- 
ing of the gospel of Christ, no church here existed, but the 
temple of an idol ; no priesthood but that of paganism ; no God 
but the sun, the moon, or some hideous image. To the cruel 
rites of the Druidical worship, succeeded the abominations of 
the Roman idolatry. In Scotland stood the temple of Mars; 
in Cornwall, the temple of Mercury ; in Bangor, the temple of 
Minerva; at Maiden, the temple of Victoria; in Bath, the 
temple of Apollo ; at Leicester, the temple of Janus ; at York, 
where St Peter's now stands, the temple of Bellona ; in London, 
on the site of St Paul's cathedral, the temple of Diana; and 
at Westminster, where the Abbey rears its venerable pile, a 
temple of Apollo." Through the mercy of God, ouf country 
is now blessed with thousands of christian churches, and 
multitudes of gospel ministers. The land is full of Bibles ; 
and British Christians, sensible of their privileges, are engaged 
in diffusing the light of divine truth among the benighted na- 
tions. 

xii. 15. — If the foot shall say, Because I am not 
the hand, I am not of the body ; is it therefore not 
of the body ? 

The Rev. Ambrose Morton was generally esteemed a good 
scholar, and remarkably humble, sanctified, and holy, but was 
inclined to melancholy, to his own discouragement. In his 
younger days, when he was assistant to another minister, some 
good people, in his hearing, speaking of their conversion, and 
ascribing it under God to that minister's preaching, he seemed 
cast down as if he was of no use. A sensible countryman, who 
was present, and who had a particular value for his ministry, 
made this observation for his encouragement : " An ordinary 
workman may hew down timber, but it must be an accom- 
plished artist that shall frame it for the building." Mr M. 
therefore rose up, and cheerfully replied, "If I am of any use, 
I am satisfied." Indeed, his preaching was always solid and 
judicious, and highly esteemed by all but himself; and was es- 
pecially useful to experienced Christians. 

xiii. 15. — Seeketh not her own. 

Dr Hammond frequently remitted his rights when he thought 
the party unable to pay. Once he had made a bargain with 
one of his parishioners to have so much for the tithe of a large 

N 



146 I CORINTH I ANS XIV. 

meadow ; and, according* to his agreement, received part of 
the money at the beginning of the year. It happened, how- 
ever, that the produce was afterwards spoiled, and carried 
away by a flood. When the tenant came to make the last pay- 
ment, the doctor not only refused it, but returned the former 
sum, saying to the poor man, " God forbid that I should take 
the tenth, where you have not the nine parts." 

xiii. 12. — Now we see through a glass, darkly 
but then face to face : now I know in part, but then 
shall I know even as also I am known. 

An old Hottentot having been taken ill, was visited by Mr 
Reid, a missionary. He said, " This is the message of death ! 
I shall now go and see the other country, where I have never 
been, but which I long to see ! I am weary of every thing 
here ! I commit too much sin here, I wish to be free from it ; 
I cannot understand things well here, and you cannot under- 
stand me. The Lord has spoken much to me, though I can- 
not explain it." 

xiv. 9. — So likewise ye, except ye utter by the 
tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it 
be known what is spoken ? for ye shall speak unto 
the air. 

A gentlewoman went one day to hear Dr preach, and, 

as usual, carried a pocket Bible with her, that she might turn 
to any of the passages the preacher might happen to refer to. 
But she found that she had no use for her Bible there ; and, 
on coming away, said to a friend, " I should have left my 
Bible at home to-day, and have brought my dictionary. The 
doctor does not deal in Scripture, but in such learned words 
and phrases as require the help of an interpreter to render them 
intelligible." 

xiv. 21. — In the law it is written, With men of 
other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this 
people ; and yet for all that they will not hear me, 
saith the Lord. 

A musical amateur of eminence, who had often observed Mr 



I CORINTHIANS XV. 147 

Cadogan's inattention to his performances, said to him one day, 
" Come, I am determined to make you feel the force of music, 
— pay particular attention to this piece." It accordingly was 
played. " Well, what do you say now ? " " Why, just what I 
said before." " What ! can you hear this and not be charmed? 
Well, I am quite surprised at your insensibility. Where are 
your ears?' " Bear with me, my lord,'' replied Mr Cadogan, 
"since I too have had my surprise; I have often from the 
pulpit set before you the most striking and affecting truths ; I 
have sounded notes that have raised the dead ; I have said, 
Surely he will feel now; but you never seemed charmed with 
my music, though infinitely more interesting than yours. I 
too have been ready to say with astonishment, Where are his 
ears ?" 

xv. 38. — Evil communications corrupt good man- 
ners. 

A poor boy who had been educated in the Stockport Sab- 
bath school, conducted himself so well, and made so great pro- 
ficiency in learning, that he was appointed teacher of one of the 
junior classes. About this time his father died, and his mother 
being reduced to indigent circumstances, she was obliged to 
engage him in one of the cotton factories, where he met with 
boys of his own age, who were matured in vice, and hardened 
in crime. Through the force of their evil example, he lost by 
degrees all his serious impressions ; and having thrown off the 
fear of God, became addicted to intemperance, and the com- 
mission of petty thefts. His dissolute conduct soon brought 
him into the army. The regiment was sent to Spain, where 
his habit of excessive drinking was confirmed ; and not satisfied 
with the advantages he reaped as the fruits of many a splendid 
victory, he plundered the innocent and peaceful inhabitants. 
On the close of the war in the Peninsula, he returned home 
with his regiment ; and soon after landing on the coast of 
Hampshire, he, with others of his companions, whose prin- 
ciples he had vitiated, broke into several houses; till at length 
he was detected, arraigned at the tribunal of justice, and con- 
demned to an ignominious death, at the age of twenty-one. 
" Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." 

xv. 35 — But some man will say, How are the 

dead raised up ? and with what body do they come? 

" A number of the attendants on the queen's sister," says 



148 I CORINTHIANS XVI. 

Mr Ellis in his Polynesian Researches, " soon after the re- 
ception of Christianity, came to the meeting", and stated that 
one of their friends had died a few days before, and that they 
had buried the corpse according to their ancient manner, not 
laying it straight in a coffin, as Christians were accustomed 
to do, but placing- it in a sitting posture, with the face be- 
tween the knees, the hands under the thighs, and the whole 
body bound round with cords. Since the interment (they 
added), they had been thinking about the resurrection, and 
wished to know how the body would then appear, whether, 
if left in that manner it would rise deformed, and whether 
they had not better disinter the corpse, and deposit it in a 
straight or horizontal position. A suitable reply was of course 
returned. They were directed to let it remain undisturbed — 
that probably long before the resurrection it would be so com- 
pletely dissolved, and mingled with the "surrounding earth, 
that no trace would be left of the form in which it had been 
deposited." 

xvi. 2. — Upon the first day of the week, let every 
one of you lay by him in store, as God hath pros- 
pered him. 

At a public meeting, one of the orators addressed the assem- 
bly as follows : — " My dear brethren, it has been the usual 
custom for an audience to testify their approbation of the 
speaker by clapping their hands ; but I beg to recommend to 
your adoption a new method of clapping, less tumultuous, and 
much more pleasing ; — when you leave this place, clap your 
hands into your pockets, and clap your money into the plate 
held to receive it, and the Lord give it his blessing." This 
address had the desired effect. 

xvi. 22. — If any man love not the Lord Jesus 
Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha. 

Mr Flavel, on one occasion, preached from the above pas- 
sage. The discourse was unusually solemn, particularly the 
explanation of the words anathema maran-atha— il cursed with 
a curse, cursed of God with a bitter and grievous curse." At 
the conclusion of the service, when Mr Flavel rose to pro- 
nounce the benediction, he paused, and said, " How shall I 
bless this whole assembly, when every person in it, who loveth 



II CORINTHIANS I. 149 

not the Lord Jesus Christ, is anathema maran-atha? ' The 
solemnity of this address affected the audience ; and one gen- 
tleman, a person of rank, was so overcome by his feelings, 
that he fell senseless to the floor. In the congregation was a 
lad named Luke Short, then about fifteen years old, and a 
native of Dartmouth. Soon after he went to America, where 
he passed the rest of his life, first at Marblehead, and after- 
wards at Middleborough, Massachusetts. Mr Short's life was 
lengthened much beyond the usual time. When an hundred 
years old, he had sufficient strength to work on his farm, and 
his mental faculties were very little impaired. Hitherto he 
had lived in carelessness and sin ; he was now " a sinner an 
hundred years old," and apparently ready to " die accursed." 
But one day as he sat in the field, he busied himself in reflect- 
ing on his past life. Eecurring to the events of his youth, his 
memory fixed upon Mr Fiavel's discourse above alluded to, 
a considerable part of which he was able to recollect. The 
affectionate earnestness of the preacher's manner, the impor- 
tant truths he delivered, and the effects produced on the con- 
gregation, were brought fresh to his mind. The blessing of 
God accompanied his meditation ; he felt that he had not 
" loved the Lord Jesus Christ ;" he feared the dreadful " ana- 
thema ; ' conviction was followed by repentance, and at length 
this aged sinner obtained peace through the blood of atone- 
ment, and was " found in the way of righteousness." He 
joined the congregational church in Middleborough, and to the 
day of his death, which took place in his 116th i/ear, gave pleas- 
ing evidences of piety. 



II CORINTHIANS. 

Chap. i. 5. — As the sufferings of Christ abound 
in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 

When Mr James Bainham, who suffered under Henry VIII. 
of England, was in the midst of the flames, which had half con- 
sumed his arms and legs, he said aloud, — " O ye papists, ye 
look for miracles, and here now you may see a miracle ; for in 
this fire I feel no more pain than if I were in a bed of down, 
but it is to me a bed of roses." 



150 II CORINTHIANS II. 

n him are Yea, 






i. 20.— All the promises of God in him are Yea, 
and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 

The faith of Dr Watts in the promises of God was lively 
and unshaken. " I believe them enough," said he, " to ven- 
ture an eternity on them." To a religious friend, at another 
time, he thus expressed himself : "I remember an aged minister 
used to say, that the most learned and knowing Christians, 
when they come to die, have only the same plain promises 
for their support, as the common and unlearned ; and so," con- 
tinued he, "I find it. It is the plain promises of the gospel 
that are my support : and I bless God, they are plain promises, 
which do not require much labour and pains to understand 
them ; for I can do nothing now but look into my Bible for 
some promise to support me, and live upon that." 

ii. 8 Wherefore I beseech you, that ye would 

confirm your love toward him. 

Some friends were conversing about a person, who, in spite 
of many remonstrances, and many opportunities of knowing the 
path of duty, seemed perfectly steeled against every proper im- 
pression, and determined to go on in his evil courses. One of 
the company, who, before he knew the gospel, had gone to great 
excess in wickedness himself, remarked, that he saw no neces- 
sity for his friends troubling themselves any further with such a 
character ; adding, " If he has an opportunity of knowing the 
truth, and will not attend to it, let him take the consequences." 
A lady sitting by, who knew this person's history, gently re- 
minded him, — '• Ah ! Mr , what might have been your 

state to-day, if others had argued thus in regard to you ?" He 
had himself been indebted to the affectionate and persevering 
assiduities of a christian friend, as the means, under the bless- 
ing of God, of leading his attention to the revelation of divine 
mercy. 

ii. 16. — To the one we are the savour of death 

unto death. 

When the Rev. Mr Fletcher of Madeley, was once preach- 
ing on Noah as a type of Christ, and while in the midst of a 
most animated description of the terrible day of the Lord, he 
suddenly paused. Every feature of his expressive countenance 



II CORINTHIANS III. 151 

was marked with painful feeling ; and, striking his forehead with 
the palm of his hand, he exclaimed, " Wretched man that I 
am ! Beloved brethren, it often cuts me to the soul, as it does 
at this moment, to reflect, that while 1 have been endeavouring, 
by the force of truth, by the beauty of holiness, and even by 
the terrors of the Lord, to bring you to walk in the peaceable 
paths of righteousness, I am, with respect to many of you who 
reject the gospel, only tying millstones round your neck, to 
sink you deeper in perdition !" The whole church was elec- 
trified, and it was some time before he could resume his dis- 
course. 

iii. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to 

think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is 
of God. 

The Rev. Thomas Hooker, some time after his settlement at 
Hartford, having to preach among his old friends at Newton 
on a Lord's day in the afternoon, his great fame had collected 
together a vast concourse of people. When he came to preach, 
he found himself so entirely at a loss what to say, that, after a 
few shattered attempts to proceed, he was obliged to stop and 
say, that what he had prepared was altogether taken from him. 
He therefore requested the congregation to sing a psalm while 
he retired. Upon his return, he preached a most admirable 
sermon with the greatest readiness and propriety. After the 
public service was closed, some of his friends speaking to him 
of the Lord's withholding his assistance, he meekly replied, 
" We daily confess that we have nothing, and can do nothing, 
without Christ ; and what if Christ will make this manifest be- 
fore our congregations ? Must we not be humbly contented ?" 

iii. 14. — Their minds were blinded : for until this 
day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the 
reading of the Old Testament ; which vail is done 
away in Christ. 

A learned Rabbi of the Jews, at Aleppo, being dangerously 
ill, called his friends together, and desired them seriously to 
consider the various former captivities endured by their nation, 
as a punishment for the hardness of their hearts, and their pre- 
sent captivity, which was continued sixteen hundred years, 



152 II CORINTHIANS IV. 

" the occasion of which," said he, " is doubtless our unbelief. 
We have long looked for the Messiah, and the Christians have 
believed in one Jesus, of our nation, who was of the seed of 
Abraham and David, and born in Bethlehem, and, for aught 
we know, may be the true Messiah; and we may have suffered 
this long captivity because we have rejected him. Therefore 
my advice is, as my last words, that if the Messiah, which we 
expect, do not come at or about the year 1650, reckoning from 
the birth of their Christ, then you may know and believe that 
this Jesus is the Christ, and you shall have no other.'' 

iv. 7. — We have this treasure in earthen vessels, 
that the excellency of the power may be of God, 
and not of us. 

Sometimes God is pleased to enrich, with a more than ordi- 
nary measure of grace and knowledge of gospel truth, persons 
of feeble constitutions. Dr Doddridge, at his birth, showed so 
small symptoms of life, that he was laid aside as dead. But 
one of the attendants, thinking she perceived some motion of 
breath, took that necessary care of him, upon which, in those 
tender circumstances, the feeble name of life depended, which 
was so nearly expiring, as soon as it was kindled. He had 
from his infancy an infirm constitution, and a thin consumptive 
habit, which made himself and his friends apprehensive that his 
life would be very short ; and he frequently, especially on the 
returns of his birth-day, expressed his wonder and thankfulness 
that he was so long preserved. 

iv. 1 8 — The things which are not seen are eter- 
nal. 

A certain lady, having spent the afternoon and evening at 
cards, and in gay company, when she came home, found her 
servant-maid reading a pious book. " Poor melancholy soul," 
said she, " what pleasure canst thou find in poring so long over 
a book like that ? " — When the lady went to bed, she could not 
fall asleep, but lay sighing and weeping so much, that her ser- 
vant overhearing her, came and asked her, once and again, 
what was the matter with her. At length she burst out into a 
flood of tears, and said, " Oh ! it was one word I saw in your 
book that troubles me ; there I saw that word Eternity." 
The consequence of this impression was. that she laid aside her 



II CORINTHIANS VI. 153 

cards, forsook her gay company, and set herself seriously to 
prepare for another world. 

v. 2 — In tins we groan, earnestly desiring to be 
clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. 

Mr Dod, in the sixty-third year of his age, had a fever with 
very threatening symptoms ; but things turning happily at the 
crisis, and the physician having thereupon said to him, " Now 

I have hopes of your recovery ;" Mr Dod answered, " You 
think to comfort me by this ; but you make my heart sad. It 
is as if you should tell a man, who, after being sorely weather- 
beaten at sea, had just arrived at the haven where his soul 
longed to be, that he must return to the ocean, to be tossed 
again with winds and waves." 

v. 17 — If any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- 
ture : old things are passed away ; behold, all things 
are become new. 

The Rev. Legh Richmond, on his return from Scotland 
some years ago, passed through Stockport, at the time when 
radical opinions first agitated the country. In consequence of 
his lameness, he was never able to walk far without resting. 
He was leaning on his stick, and looking about him, when a 
poor fellow ran up to him, and offered his hand, inquiring with 
considerable earnestness, "Pray, Sir, are you a radical?" 

II Yes, my friend," replied Mr Richmond, " I am a radical, a 
thorough radical." " Then," said the man, " give me your 
hand." " Stop, Sir, stop ; I must explain myself: we all need 
a radical reformation, our hearts are full of disorders ; the root 
and principle within is altogether corrupt. Let you and me 
mend matters there, and then all will be well, and we shall 
cease to complain of the times and the government." " Right, 
Sir," replied the radical, "you are right, Sir;" and bowing 
respectfully, he retired. 

vi. 3. — Giving no offence in any thing, that the 
ministry be not blamed. 

Doctor Brockmand, Bishop of Zealand, was once present at 
a wedding, which was attended by a large promiscuous com- 
pany of all ranks. At table, the conversation turned upon the 



154 11 CORINTHIANS VII. 

conduct of a certain disorderly clergyman : some of the com- 
pany reprobated, and others pitied him. But a lady of rank, 
no doubt one of those who take the lead where busy scandal 
feasts her votaries, gave a new turn to the subject, and with a 
scornful mien, added, " What a pretty set of creatures our 
clergy are ! " It grieved Brockmand to hear the whole clergy 
thus vilified, yet he did not think proper to offer a serious 
reply. But shortly after, he related an anecdote of a noble 
lady, notorious for ill conduct, concluding with these words, — 
" It does not follow, however, that all our noble ladies should 
resemble her." 

vi. 14. — Be not ye unequally yoked with unbe- 
lievers. 

Eliza Embert, a young Parisian lady, resolutely discarded 
a gentleman, to whom she was to have been married, because 
he ridiculed religion. Having given him a gentle reproof, he 
replied, " That a man of the world could not be so old fashion- 
ed as to regard God and religion." Eliza started ! — but on 
recovering herself, said, " From this moment, Sir, when I dis- 
cover that you do not regard religion, I cease to be yours. 
He who does not love and honour God, can never love his 
wife constantly and sincerely." 

vii. 6. — God, that comforteth those that are cast 
down. 

During the ministry of the late Mr Willison of Dundee, a 
serious woman who had been hearing him preach from Psalm 
lv. 22, " Ca,st thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain 
thee," came to his house in the evening, with a broken and op- 
pressed mind, in order to make known to him her perplexed 
case. The poor woman, as she passed through the house to 
his room, heard a little girl repeating the text, which came 
with such power to her heart, as effectually dispelled her fears, 
and set her at liberty. When she was introduced to Mr W., 
she told him that she was come to make known her distress ; 
but the Lord, by means of his grandchild repeating the text, 
as she came through the house, had graciously dispelled her 
fears, and removed her burden, and now she only desired to 
give thanks for her spiritual recovery. 



II CORINTHIANS VIII. 155 

vii. 11. — For behold the self-same thing, that ye 
sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it 
wrought in you, — yea, what revenge ! 

In the bloody reign of Queen Mary of England, Archbishop 
Cranmer became obnoxious to her persecuting spirit. She was 
determined to bring him to the stake ; but previously employed 
emissaries to persuade him, by means of flattery and false pro- 
mises, to renounce his faith. The good man was overcome, 
and subscribed the errors of the Church of Rome. His con- 
science smote him ; he returned to his former persuasion ; and, 
when brought to the stake, he stretched forth the hand that had 
made the unhappy signature, and held it in the flames till it was 
entirely consumed, frequently exclaiming, " That unworthy 
hand ;" after which he patiently suffered martyrdom, and ascend- 
ed to receive its reward. 

viii. 11. — Perform the doing of it; that as there 
was a readiness to will, so there may be a perform- 
ance also out of that which ye have. 

Karamsin, the Russian traveller, having witnessed Lavater's 
diligence in study, visiting the sick, and relieving the poor, 
greatly surprised at his fortitude and activity, said to him, 
r Whence have you so much strength of mind and power of 
endurance?" " My friend," replied he, " man rarely wants 
the power to work, when he possesses the will ; the more I la- 
bour in the discharge of my duties, so much the more ability 
and inclination to labour do I constantly find within myself." 

viii. 14. — At this time your abundance may be a 
supply for their wants, that their abundance may be 
a supply for your want. 

The Rev. Edward Jones was particularly noted for his cha- 
ritable disposition. A friend once made him a present of a sum 
of money, that he might purchase malt to make beer for the 
use of his family. Returning home from the house of his friend, 
he happened to pass through a village where there were several 
poor families, some of whom were sick, and others in very 
needy circumstances. Hearing of their distresses, he went into 
their houses, in order to address some serious advice to them. 
Rut his heart was so much affected with the miseries he be- 



156 II CCMUNTHIANS IX. 

held, that he distributed among them what his friend had given 
him to supply his own wants. When he reached home, he told 
his wife what he had done. She cheerfully applauded his ge- 
nerosity, and at the same time acquainted him, that, in his ab- 
sence, God had inclined the heart of a neighbouring farmer to 
send the very quantity of malt that his friend's money would 
have purchased. 

ix. 7. — Every man, according as he purposeth in 
his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, nor of 
necessity : for God loveth a cheerful giver. 

Mrs Graham of New York made it a rule to appropriate a 
tenth part of her earnings to be expended for pious and charit- 
able purposes ; she had taken a lease of two lots of ground, in 
Greenwich Street, from the corporation of Trinity Church, 
with the view of building a house on them for her own accom- 
modation : the building, however, she never commenced : by 
a sale which her son-in-law, Mr Bethune, made of the lease in 
1795, for her, she got an advance of one thousand pounds. So 
large a profit was new to her. " Quick, quick," said she, " let 
me appropriate the tenth before my heart grows hard." What 
fidelity in duty ! What distrust of herself ! Fifty pounds of 
this money she sent to Mr Mason, in aid of the funds he was 
collecting for the establishment of a theological seminary. 

ix. 9 — He hath dispersed abroad : he hath given 
to the poor : his righteousness remain eth for ever. 

The late John Thornton, Esq. of Clapham, was distinguished 
by his great liberality : he disposed of large sums in various 
charitable designs, with unremitting constancy, during a long 
course of years. His charities were much larger than is com- 
mon with wealthy persons of good reputation for beneficence, 
insomuch that he was almost regarded as a prodigy. He was 
the patron of all pious, exemplary, and laborious ministers of 
the gospel ; frequently educating young men whom he found 
to be religiously disposed, and purchasing many livings, which 
he gave to ministers, in order that the gospel might be preached 
in those places where he supposed the people were perishing 
for lack of knowledge. He also dispersed a very great number 
of Bibles, in different languages, in distant countries, perhaps 
in all the four quarters of the globe, and with them vast quan- 



II CORINTHIANS X. 157 

tities of religious books, calculated to alarm the conscience, 
and affect the heart with the importance of eternal things. He 
also patronized every undertaking which was suited to supply 
the wants, to relieve the distresses, or to increase the comforts 
of the human species, in whatever climate, or of whatever de- 
scription, provided they properly fell within his sphere of ac- 
tion. 

x. 4. — The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 
but mighty through God to the pulling down of 
strong-holds. 

The preaching of the late Rev. J. Scott having been made 
effectual to the production of a great change in a young lady, 
the daughter of a country gentleman, so that she could no longer 
join the family in their usual dissipations, and appeared to them 
as melancholy, or approaching to it, — her father, who was a 
very gay man, looking upon Mr Scott as the sole cause of what 
he deemed his daughter's misfortune, became exceedingly en- 
raged at him ; so much so, that he actually lay in wait, in order 
to shoot him. Mr S. being providentially apprised of it, was 
enabled to escape the danger. The diabolical design of the 
gentleman being thus defeated, he sent Mr S. a challenge. 
Mr S. might have availed himself of the law, and prosecuted 
him, but he took another method. He waited upon him at his 
house, was introduced to him in his parlour, and, with his cha- 
racteristic boldness and intrepidity, thus addressed him : — " Sir, 

I hear you have designed to shoot me, — by which you would 
have been guilty of murder ; failing in this, you sent me a chal- 
lenge ; and what a coward you must be, Sir, to wish to engage 
with a blind man (alluding to his being short-sighted). As you 
have given me a challenge, it is now my right to choose the 
time, the place, and the weapon ; I, therefore, appoint the pre- 
sent moment, Sir, the place where we now are, and the sword 
for the weapon, to which I have been most accustomed." The 
gentleman was evidently greatly terrified ; when Mr Scott, hav- 
ing attained his end, produced a pocket-bible, and exclaimed, 

II This is my sword, Sir, the only weapon I wish to engage 
with." — " Never," said Mr S. to a friend, to whom he related 
this anecdote, " never was a poor careless sinner so delighted 
with the sight of a Bible before." Mr Scott reasoned with the 
gentleman on the impropriety of his conduct in treating him as 
he had done, for no other reason than because he had preached 



158 II CORINTHIANS XI. 

the everlasting gospel. The result was, the gentleman took 
him by the hand, begged his pardon, expressed his sorrow for 
his conduct, and became afterwards very friendly to him. 

x. 10 — His letters (say they), are weighty and 
powerful ; but his bodily presence is weak, and his 
speech contemptible. 

Mr Herbert Palmer, an eminent divine in the seventeenth 
century, sometimes preached in the French congregation at 
Canterbury, at the request of their Eldership, being master of 
that language, to the great edification of his hearers. A French 
gentlewoman, when she saw him the first time coming into the 
pulpit, being startled at the smallness of his personal appear- 
ance, and the weakness of his look, cried out in the hearing of 
those that sat by her, " Alas ! what should this child say to us f n 
But having heard him pray and preach with so much spiritual 
strength and vigour, she lifted up her hands to heaven with ad- 
miration and joy, blessing God for what she heard. 

xi. 32, 33. — The governor under Aretas the king, 
kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, 
desirous to apprehend me ; and through a window, 
in a basket, was I let down by the wall, and escaped 

his hands. 

Archbishop Bancroft having received information that Mr 
Eobert Parker, a puritan divine, was concealed in a certain 
citizen's house in London, immediately sent a person to watch 
the house, while others were prepared with a warrant to search 
for him. The person having fixed himself at the door, boasted 
that he had him now secure. Mr Parker, at this juncture, re- 
solved to dress himself in the habit of a citizen, and venture 
out, whereby he might possibly escape ; but if he remained in 
the house, he would be sure to be taken. Accordingly, in his 
strange garb he went forth ; and God so ordered it, that, just 
at the moment of his going out, the watchman at the door spied 
his intended bride passing on the other side of the street ; and, 
while he just stepped over to speak to her, the good man escap- 
ed. When the officers came with the warrant to search the 
house, to their great mortification he could not be found. After 
this signal providential deliverance, he retired to the house of 



II CORINTHIANS XII. 159 

1 a friend in the neighbourhood of London, where a treacherous 
1 servant in the family gave information to the bishop's officers, 
who came and actually searched the house where he was; but, 
by the special providence of God, he was again most remark- 
ably preserved ; for the only room in the house which they neg- 
lected to search, was that in which he was concealed, from 
whence he heard them swearing and quarrelling one with an- 
other ; one protesting that they had not searched that room, 
and another as confidently asserting the contrary, and refusing 
to suffer it to be searched again Had he been taken, he must 
have been cast into prison, where, without doubt, says the nar- 
rator, he must have died. 

xii. 26 In perils in the sea. 

Nathaniel, an assistant to the Moravian missionaries in 
Greenland, when engaged in the seal-fishery, being in com- 
pany with another brother, who was yet inexperienced in the 
management of a kayak (a Greenland boat), he met a Neitser- 
soak, the largest kind of seal, which he killed. He then dis- 
covered his companion upon a flake of ice, endeavouring to 
kill another of the same species, and in danger ; he, therefore, 
left his dead seal, kept buoyant by the bladder, and hastened 
to help his brother. They succeeded in killing the seal ; but 
suddenly a strong north wind arose, and carried off both the 
kayaks to sea ; nor could they discover any kayaks in the 
neighbourhood. They cried aloud for help, but in vain. 
Meanwhile the wind rose in strength, and carried both the 
kayaks, and also the piece of ice, swiftly along with the waves. 
Having lost sight of the kayaks, they now saw themselves with- 
out the least hope of deliverance. Nathaniel continued pray- 
ing to his Saviour, and thought with great grief of the situa- 
tion of his poor family, but felt a small degree of hope arising 
in his breast. Unexpectedly, he saw his dead seal floating to- 
wards him, and was exceedingly surprised at its approaching 
against the wind, till it came so near the flake of ice, that they 
could secure it. But how should a dead seal become the 
means of their deliverance ? and what was now to be done? 
All at once, Nathaniel resolved, at a venture, to seat himself 
upon the dead floating seal ; and by the help of his paddle, 
which he had happily kept in his hand w T hen he joined his 
brother on the ice, to go in quest of the kayaks. Though the 
sea and waves continually overflowed him, yet he kept his 
seat, made after the kayaks, and succeeded in overtaking his 



160 II CORINTHIANS XIII. 

own, into which he crept, and went in quest of that of his com- 
panion, which he likewise found. He also kept possession of 
the seal ; and now hastened in search of the flake of ice, on 
which his companion was most anxiously looking out for him ; 
having reached it, he brought him his kayak, and enabled him 
to secure the other seal, when both returned home in safety. 
When relating his dangerous adventure, he ascribed his pre- 
servation, not to his own contrivance, but to the mercy of God 
alone. 

xii. 34. — I knew such a man (whether in the 
body, or out of the body, I cannot tell : Goc 1 
knoweth), how that he was caught up into paradise, 
and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful 
for a man to utter. 

Mr John Holland, the day before he died, called for the 
Bible, saying, " Come, O come ; death approaches, let us 
gather some flowers to comfort this hour." And turning with 
his own hand to the 8th chapter of Romans, he gave the book 
to Mr Leigh, and bade him read : at the end of every verse, 
he paused, and then gave the sense, to his own comfort, but 
more to the joy and wonder of his friends. Having continued 
his meditations on the 8th of the Romans, thus read to him, 
for two hours or more, on a sudden he said, " O stay your 
reading. What brightness is this I see ? Have you lighted 
up any candles?" Mr Leigh answered, " No, it is the sun- 
shine ;" for it was about five o'clock in a clear summer even- 
ing. " Sunshine !" said he, " nay, it is my Saviour's shine. 
Now, farewell world; welcome heaven. The day-star from 
on high hath visited my heart. O speak it when I am gone, 
and preach it at my funeral ; God dealeth familiarly with man. 
I feel his mercy ; I see his majesty ; whether in the body or 
out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth ; but I see things 
that are unutterable." Thus ravished in spirit, he roamed to- 
wards heaven with a cheerful look, and soft sweet voice; but 
what he said could not be understood. 

xiii. 9. — My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my 
strength is made perfect in weakness. 

A minister of the gospel was one evening preaching in Bris- 



II CORINTHIANS XIII. 161 

tol, from these words, " My grace is sufficient for thee," when 
he took occasion to relate the circumstance of a pious young 
woman's labouring under a strong temptation to put a period 
to her life by drowning herself, from which she was delivered 
in a manner strikingly providential. She had gone to the 
river in order to comply with the enemy's suggestion ; but as 
she was adjusting her clothes to prevent her from floating, she 
felt something in her pocket, which proved to be her Bible. 
She thought she would take it out, and look in it for the last 
time. She did so, and the above-mentioned text caught her 
eye. Through the divine blessing attending them, the words 
struck her with peculiar force, when the snare was instantly 
broken, the temptation vanished, and she returned home bless- 
ing and praising him who had given her the victory. It is 
stated, that the relation of this circumstance was blessed to the 
conversion of a man and his wife who were present, who had 
lived in an almost continual state of enmity, and whose habita- 
tion exhibited a terrifying scene of discord and confusion. In 
one of those unhappy intervals of sullen silence, which both 
parties |were accustomed to maintain after their quarrels, the 
wife came to the dreadful determination of drowning herself. 
She accordingly left her house for that purpose, and approach- 
ed the river, but owing to its being too light, she apprehended 
she should be detected before she could accomplish her design. 
She therefore deferred the fatal act till it should have grown 
dark, and, in the interim, wandered about, not knowing whither 
to go. At length she observed a place of worship open, and 
thought she would go in to pass the time. Mr W. was preach- 
ing, and she listened to him with attention, especially when he 
related the matter above-mentioned. Instead of drowning her- 
self, she returned home after the sermon, with a countenance 
which, however expressive before of a malevolent disposition, 
now indicated that a spirit of gentleness had taken possession 
of her breast. Struck with her appearance, her husband ask- 
ed her where she had been. On telling him, he immediately 
said, " And did you see me there?" She replied, " No. ' 
He rejoined, " But I was ; and blessed be God, 1 found his 
grace sufficient for me also." 

xiii. 11. — Be of one mind, live in peace ; and the 
God of love and peace shall be with you. 

Mr Johnston of West Africa, in one of his late journals, re- 



162 GALATIANS I. 

lates the following very pleasing and instructive incident :— 
•■ In visiting a sick communicant, his wife, who was formerly 
in our school, was present. I asked several questions, viz. if 
they prayed together, read a part of the Scriptures (the woman 
can read), constantly attended public worship, and lived in 
peace with their neighbours. All these questions were an- 
swered in the affirmative. I then asked if they lived in peace 
together. The man answered, ' Sometimes I say a word my 
wife no like, or my wife talk or do what I no like ; but when 
we want to quarrel, then we shake hands together, shut the 
door, and go to prayer, and so we get peace again.' This 
method of keeping peace quite delighted me." 

xiii. 14 — The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and the love of God, and the communion of the 
Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. 

Mr Venn was on a visit at the house of a very intimate 
friend, where a lady of great piety was ill of a dangerous and 
exquisitely painful disorder. The physician who attended her, 
one day observed to Mr Venn, that he was quite at a loss to 
explain how she was enabled to bear such a severity of suffer- 
ing, as he well knew attended her complaint, with so much 
tranquillity, and so little symptom of murmuring and restless- 
ness. *' Can you account for it, Sir?" added he. " Sir," 
said Mr Venn, " that lady happily possesses what you and I 
ought to pray for, — the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost." 



GALATIANS. 

Chap. i. 10 — Do I seek to please men ? for if I yet 
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. 

The Rev. Joseph Alleine was very faithful and impartial in 
administering reproof. Once, when employed in a work of 
this kind, he said to a christian friend, " I am now going 
about that which is likely to make a very dear and obliging 
friend become an enemv. But, however, it cannot be omit- 



GALATIANS II. 163 

ted ; it is better to lose man's favour than God's." But, so far 
from becoming* his enemy for his conscientious faithfulness to 
him, he rather loved him the more ever after, as long as he 
lived. 

i. 23. — He which persecuted us in times past, now 

preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. 

The Rev. J. Perkins, one of the American missionaries, 
has recorded the following remarkable anecdote in his Journal. 
A physician who had been personally acquainted with the in- 
fidel Paine, had embraced his sentiments, and was very pro- 
fane and dissipated. After more than a year striving against 
the convictions of the Spirit of God, which were so powerful, 
and his stubbornness so great, like a bullock unaccustomed 
to the yoke, as to bring him to a bed of long confinement, and 
the most awful depression of mind, he became a humble, zeal- 
ous, and exemplary Christian. And as soon as his health was 
recovered, he qualified himself, by preparatory studies, to go 
forth to the world, and preach that Jesus whom he for many 
years considered as an impostor, whose name he had habitually 
blasphemed, and whose religion he had counted foolishness, 
and a base imposition on the world. 

ii. 10. — Only they would that we should remem- 
ber the poor ; the same which I also was forward to 
do. 

Among the graces for which Mr Fox, the celebrated Mar- 
tyrologist, was eminent, may be noticed his extensive liberality 
to the poor. He was so bountiful to them while he lived, 
that he had no ready money to leave to them at his death. 
A friend once inquiring of him, " Whether he recollected a 
certain poor man, whom he used to relieve?" He replied, 
" Yes, I remember him well; and I willingly forget lords and 
ladies, to remember such as he." 

ii. 16. — We have believed in Jesus Christ, that 
we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not 
by the works of the law ; for by the works of the law 
shall no flesh be justified. 

The views of the Rev. Martin Boos, a late Catholic cler- 



164 GALATIANS III, 

gymati in Austria, though afterwards decidedly evangelical, 
were at the commencement of his ministry erroneous. About 
the year 1788, he went to visit a woman distinguished by her 
humility and piety, who was dangerously ill. In endeavour- 
ing to prepare her for death, he said to her, " I doubt not but 
you will die calm and happy/' " Wherefore ?" asked the sick 
woman. " Because your life has all been made up of a series 
of good works." The sick woman sighed; "If I die," said 
she, " confiding in the good works which you call to my re- 
collection, I know for certain that I shall be condemned ; but 
what renders me calm at this solemn hour is, that I trust solely 
in Jesus Christ my Saviour." " These few words," said Boos, 
" from the mouth of a dying woman who was reputed a saint, 
opened my eyes for the first time. I learned what that was — 
4 Christ for us ' — Like Abraham, I saw his day : from that 
time, I announced to others the Saviour of sinners whom I had 
myself found, and there are many of them who rejoice in him 
along with me." 

iii. 2 — Received ye the Spirit by the works of the 
law, or by the hearing of faith ? 

" I preached up sanctification very earnestly for six years 
in a former parish," says the Rev. Mr Bennet in a letter, " and 
never brought one soul to Christ. I did the same at this pa- 
rish, for two years, without having any success at all ; but as 
soon as ever I preached Jesus Christ, and faith in his blood, then 
believers were added to the church occasionally; then people 
flocked from all parts to hear the glorious sound of the gospel, 
some coming six, others eight, and others ten miles, and that 
constantly. The reason why my ministry was not blessed, when 
I preached up salvation partly by faith, and partly by works, 
is, because the doctrine is not of God; and he will prosper no 
ministers, but such as preach salvation in his own appointed 
way, viz. by faith in Jesus Christ." 

iii. 13 — Christ hath redeemed us from the curse 
of the law, being made a curse for us. 

In a conversation the Rev. Mr Innes had with an infidel on 
his sick-bed, the latter told Mr Innes that when he was taken 
ill, he thought he would rely on the general mercy of God; 
that, as he never had done any thing very bad, he hoped all 
would be well. " But as my weakness increased," he added, 



% GALAT1ANS V. 165 

'* I began to think, is not God a just being, as well as merci- 
ful. Now, what reason have I to think he will treat me with 
mercy, and not with justice ; and if I am treated with justice," 
he said, with much emotion, " where am I ?" "I showed 
him," says Mr Innes, " that this was the very difficulty the 
gospel met and removed, as it showed how mercy could be ex- 
ercised in perfect consistency with the strictest demands of jus- 
tice, while it was bestowed through the atonement made by 
Jesus Christ. After explaining this doctrine, and pressing it 
on his attention and acceptance, one of the last things he said 
to me, before leaving him was, " Well, I believe it must come 
to this. I confess I here see a solid footing to rest on, which, 
on my former principles, I could never find !" 

iv. 10. — Ye observe days, and months, and times, 

and years. 

Soon after the coronation of Henry II. of France, a tailor 
was apprehended for working on a saint's day ; and, being ask- 
ed why he gave such offence to religion, his reply was, " I am 
a poor man, and have nothing but my labour to depend upon ; 
necessity requires that I should be industrious, and my con- 
science tells me there is no day but the Sabbath which I ought 
to keep sacred from labour." Having thus expressed himself, 
he was committed to prison, and being brought to trial, was, 
by his iniquitous judges, condemned to be burnt. 

iv. 20. — I desire to be present with you now, and 
to change my voice ; for I stand in doubt of you. 

Mr Whitfield, in a sermon he preached at Haworth, having 
spoken severely of those professors of the gospel, who by their 
loose and evil conduct caused the ways of truth to be evil 
spoken of, intimated his hope, that it was not necessary to en- 
large much upon that topic to the congregation before him, 
who had so long enjoyed the benefit of an able and faithful 
preacher, and he was willing to believe that their profiting ap- 
peared to all men. This roused Mr Grimshaw's spirit, and 
notwithstanding his great regard for the preacher, he stood up 
and interrupted him, saying with a loud voice, " Oh Sir, for 
God's sake do not speak so, I pray you do not flatter ; I fear 
the greater part of them are going to hell with their eyes open." 

v. 17. — The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and 



a 



166 GALATIANS VI. 

the Spirit against the flesh ; and these are contrary 
the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things 
that ye would. 

An Indian visiting his white neighbours, asked for a little 
tobacco to smoke, and one of them having some loose in his 
pocket, gave him a handful. The day following, the Indian 
came back, inquiring for the donor, saying, he had found a 
quarter of a dollar among the tobacco. Being told, that as i 
was given him, he might as well keep it ; he answered, point- 
ing to his breast, " I got a good man and a bad man here, an" 
the good man say, it is not mine, I must return it to the owner 
the bad man say, why he gave it you, and it is your own now ; 
the good man say, that not right, the tobacco is yours, not the 
money ; the bad man say, never mind, you got it, go buy some 
dram : the good man say, no, no, you must not do so; so I 
don't know what to do ; and I think to go to sleep ; but the 
good man and the bad kept talking all night, and trouble me ; 
and now I bring the money back I feel good." 

v. 21. — Drunkenness, revellings, and such like, — 

they which do such things, shall not inherit the 

kingdom of God. 

In a journal written by Mr William Seward, a gentleman 
who accompanied Mr Whitfield in his travels, is found the fol- 
lowing notice : — " Heard of a drinking club that had a negro 
boy attending them, who used to mimic people for their diver- 
sion. The gentleman bade him mimic Mr Whitfield, which 
he was very unwilling to do, but they insisted upon it. He 
stood up and said, " I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not ; un- 
less you repent, you will be damned !" This unexpected speech 
broke up the club, which has not met since. 

vi. 5. — .Every man shall bear his own burden. 

Bishop Burnet, in his charges to the clergy of his diocese, 
used to be extremely vehement in his declamations against 
pluralities. In his first visitation to Salisbury, he urged the 
authority of St Bernard; who being consulted by one of his 
followers, whether he might accept of two benefices, replied, 
" And how will you be able to serve them both ?" 4 * I intend," 
answered the priest, " to officiate in one of them by a deputy." 



EPHRSIANS I. 167 

" Will your deputy suffer eternal punishment for you too?" 
asked the saint. " Believe me, you may serve your cure by 
proxy, but you must suffer the penalty in person." This anec- 
dote made such an impression on Mr Kelsey, a pious and 
wealthy clergyman then present, that he immediately resigned 
the rectory of Bernerton, in Berkshire, worth two hundred a- 
year, which he then held with one of great value. 

vi. 10. — As we have therefore opportunity, let us 
do good unto all men, especially unto them who are 
of the household of faith. 

The celebrated Dr Franklin informs us, that all the good he 
ever did to his country or mankind, he owed to a small book 
which he accidentally met with, entitled, " Essays to do good," 
in several sermons from Gal. vi. 10. These sermons were 
written by Dr Cotton Mather, a very able and pious minister 
of the gospel in Boston. " This little book," he says, " he 
studied with care and attention — laid up the sentiments in his 
memory, and resolved from that time, which was in his early 
youth, that he would make doing good the great purpose and 
business of his life." 



EPHESIANS. 

Chap. i. 11. — Being predestinated according to 

the purpose of him who worketh all things after the 

counsel of his own will. 

Toplady relates the following anecdote of King William III. 
and Bishop Burnet. The Arminian prelate affected to won- 
der, " how a person of his Majesty's piety and good sense could 
so rootedly believe the doctrine of absolute predestination." 
The royal Calvinist replied, " Did I not believe absolute pre- 
destination, I could not believe a Providence. For it would 
be most absurd to suppose, that a Being of infinite wisdom 
would work without a plan ; for which plan, predestination is 
only another word." 

i. 18 — The eyes of your understanding being en- 



168 EPHESIAXS II. 

lightened ; that ye may know what is the hope of 
his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his 
inheritance in the saints. 

Mr Flavel, at one time on a journey, set himself to improve 
his time by meditation; when his mind grew intent, till at 
length he had such ravishing tastes of heavenly joy, and such 
full assurance of his interest therein, that he utterly lost the 
sight and sense of this world and all its concerns, so that he 
knew not where he was. At last, perceiving himself faint 
through a great loss of blood from his nose, he alighted from 
his horse, and sat down at a spring, where he washed and re- 
freshed himself, earnestly desiring, if it were the will of God, 
that he might there leave the world. His spirits reviving, he 
finished his journey in the same delightful frame. He passed 
that night without any sleep, the joy of the Lord still over- 
flowing him, so that he seemed an inhabitant of the other 
world. After this, a heavenly serenity and sweet peace long 
continued with him ; and for many years he called that day 
" one of the days of heaven V* and professed he understood 
more of the life of heaven by it, than by all the discourses he 
had heard, or the books he ever read. 

ii. 1 You hath he quickened, who were dead in 

trespasses and sins. 

In 1812, the Rev. Robert Hall, who then resided at Leicester, 
paid one of his periodical visits to Bristol, and preached a most 
solemn and impressive sermon on the text, " Dead in trespasses 
and sins," of which the concluding appeals were remarkably 
sublime and awful. The moment he had delivered the last 
sentence, Dr Ryland, then the pastor of the church, hastened 
part of the way up the pulpit stairs ; and, while the tears trickled 
down his venerable face, exclaimed with a vehemence which 
astonished both the preacher and the congregation, — " Let all 
that are alive in Jerusalem, pray for the dead that they may 
live." 

ii. 8. — By grace are ye saved. 

Mr M'Laren, and Mr Gustart, were both ministers of the 
Tolbooth Church, Edinburgh. When Mr M'Laren was dy- 
ing, Mr G. paid him a visit, and put the question to him," 
" What are vou doinsr, brother?" His answer was, " I'll tell 



EPHESIANS IV. 169 

you what I am doing, brother ; I am gathering together all my 
prayers, all my sermons, all my good deeds, all my ill deeds ; 
and I am going to throw them all over board, and swim to glory 
on the plank of Free Grace." 

iii. 8. — That I should preach among the Gentiles 
the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

Dr Conyers was for some years a preacher, before he had 
an experimental knowledge of the truths of the gospel. One 
day, studying his Greek Testament, as his custom was, he 
came, in the course of his reading, to Ephesians iii. 8. " Unto 
me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, 
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches 
of Christ." " Riches of Christ!" said he to himself, " un- 
searchable riches ! What have I preached of these ? What 
do I know of these ?" Such was the beginning of new views, 
new sentiments, new declarations, with this truly conscientious 
pastor, who had the honesty to inform his people on the very 
next Sabbath, that he feared he had been a blind leader of the 
blind, but that he was now determined to begin afresh : he 
trusted the Lord would lead him aright, and as he should be 
led, so he would lead them. The broad seal of the Spirit con- 
vincing, converting, sanctifying multitudes through his minis- 
try, put it beyond a doubt who had been the author of this re- 
volution in his opinions and feelings, and that " the vision was 
of the Lord." 

iii. 19 — And to know the love of Christ, which 
passeth knowledge. 

On one occasion, the Rev. Rowland Hill was endeavouring 
to convey to his hearers, by a variety of striking illustrations, 
some idea of his conceptions of the Divine love; but suddenly 
casting his eyes towards heaven, he exclaimed, " But I am 
unable to reach the lofty theme ! — yet I do not think that the 
smallest fish that swims in the boundless ocean ever complains 
of the immeasurable vastness of the deep. So it is with me ; 
I can plunge, with my puny capacity, into a subject, the im- 
mensity of which T shall never be abl° fully to comprehend ! ' 

iv. 26 — Be ye angry, and sin not ; let not the 
sun go down upon your wrath. 



170 EPHESIANS V. 

A pious little boy, one day seeing his little sister in a pas- 
sion, thus spoke to her ; " Mary, look at the sun, it will soon 
go down ; it will soon be out of sight ; it is going, it is gone 
down. Mary, let not the sun go down upon your wrath." 

iv. 28. — Let him that stole steal no more, but ra- 
ther let him labour, working with his hands the thing 
which is good. 

Some time ago, the Rev. Rowland Hill preached a funeral 
sermon, occasioned by the death of his man-servant. In the 
course of his sermon, he delivered the following affecting rela- 
tion : — " Many persons present," he said, " were acquainted 
with the deceased, and have had it in their power to observe 
his character and conduct. They can bear witness, that for a 
considerable number of years he proved himself a perfectly 
honest, sober, industrious, and religious man, faithfully per- 
forming, as far as lay in his power, the duties of his station in 
life, and serving God with constancy and zeal. Yet this very 
man was once a robber on the highway. More than thirty 
years ago, he stopped me on the public road, and demanded 
my money. Not at all intimidated, I argued with him ; I ask- 
ed him what could induce him to pursue so iniquitous and dan- 
gerous a course of life ? 4 I have been a coachman,' said he ; 
* I am out of place, and I cannot get a character. I am un- 
able to get any employment, and am therefore obliged to re- 
sort to this means of gaining a subsistence.' I desired him to 
call on me. He promised he would, and he kept his word. 
I talked further with him, and offered to take him into my own 
service. He consented, and ever since that period he has 
served me faithfully, and not me only, but has faithfully served 
his God. Instead of finishing his life in a public and ignomi- 
nious manner, with a depraved and hardened mind, as he pro- 
bably would have done, he died in peace, and, we trust, pre- 
pared for the- society of just men made perfect. Till this day, 
the extraordinary circumstance I have related has been con- 
fined to his breast and mine. I have never mentioned it to my 
dearest friend." 

v. 16. — Redeeming the time. 

An American clergyman, in the early part of his ministry, 
being in London, called on the late Rev. Matthew Wilks. He 



EFHESIANS VI. 171 

received him with courtesy, and entered into conversation, 
which was kept up briskly, till the most important religious 
intelligence in possession of each had been imparted. Sud- 
denly there was a pause, — it was broken by Mr Wilks. " Have 
you any thing more to communicate?" " No, nothing of spe- 
cial interest." " Any further inquiries to make ?" " None." 
" Then you must leave me ; 1 have my Master's business to 
attend to ; — good morning." " Here," says the minister, " I 
received a lesson on the impropriety of intrusion, and on the 
most manly method of preventing it." 

v* 20 — Giving thanks always for all things unto 
God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

The Rev. Daniel Wilson, now bishop of Calcutta, in a speech 
delivered before the Church of England Missionary Society 
in May 1814, alluded to the prospect of general peace, and de- 
sired that all should view the hand of Providence interposing 
in our favour, and that all should ask with pious gratitude, 
What shall I render unto the Lord ? He remembered, that 
some time since, when a vote of thanks to Lord Wellington 
for some glorious achievement in the Peninsula, was moved in 
the House of Commons by the late Mr Percival, — a man, he 
must say, around whose private and public virtues his mournful 
death had shed a kind of sanctity ; — upon some member ob- 
serving, that " Ministers might thank their stars," that excel- 
lent man replied, " No, Sir, ministers may thank their God !" 
Such was the feeling he desired might prevail in their present 
rejoicings. 

vi. 9. — Ye masters, do the same things unto thein, 
forbearing threatening : knowing that your Master 
also is in heaven ; neither is there respect of per- 
sons with him. 

A celebrated tutor in Paris was in the habit of relating to 
his pupils, as they stood in a half circle before him, anecdotes 
of illustrious men, and obtaining their opinions respecting them, 
rewarding those who answered well with tickets of merit, On 
one of these occasions, he mentioned to them an anecdote of 
Marshal Turenne, " On a fine summer's day," said he, 



172 EPHESIANS VI. 

" while the Marshal was leaning out of his window, the skirts 
of his coat hanging off from the lower part of his body, his 
valet entered the room, and approaching his master with a soft 
step, gave him a violent blow with his hand. The pain occa- 
sioned by it, brought the Marshal instantly round, when he 
beheld his valet on his knees imploring his forgiveness, saying 
that he thought it had been George, his fellow servant." The 
question was then put to each of the scholars, " What would 
you have done to the servant had you been in the Marshal's 
situation ?" A haughty French boy who stood first, said, — 
" Done ! I would have run him through with my sword." This 
reply filled the whole school with surprise, and the master sen- 
tenced the boy to the forfeiture of his tickets. After putting 
the question to the other children, and receiving different an- 
swers, he came at length to a little English girl, about eight 
years of age. " Well, my dear, and what would you have 
done on this occasion, supposing you had been Marshal Tu- 
renne?" She replied, with all the sedateness of her nation, 
" I should have said, suppose it had been George, why strike 
so hard ?" The simplicity and sweetness of this reply drew 
smiles of approbation from the whole school, and the master 
awarded the prize and all the forfeitures to this little girl. 

vi. 17. — The sword of the Spirit, which is the 
word of God. 

Admiral Count Verhuel attended the anniversary of the Bri- 
tish and Foreign Bible Society in London in 1822, as the re- 
presentative of the French Bible Society, and occupied a seat 
next to Admiral Lord Gambier. He was asked, some time 
after, by a reverend gentleman, what were his feelings on that 
occasion. He replied, " I remember the time when Lord 
Gambier and myself could not have stood so near each other, 
without each holding a sword in his hand. At this time we did 
not feel the want of our swords; we suffered them to remain in 
the scabbard ; we had no sword, but the sword of the Spirit, 
and the sword of the Spirit is the word of God." " Would it 
not," the minister added, " be a matter of regret to you to be 
again engaged in a war with Great Britain?" " I should al- 
ways," he added, " regret to be at war with a country that is 
so nobly engaged in sending the gospel of peace throughout 
the world." 






PHILIFPIANS II. 173 



PHILIPPIANS. 

Chap. i. 18. — Christ is preached; and I therein 

do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 

A worthy minister, who used to preach a week-day lecture 
in the city of London, heard a person expressing his regret 
that it was so ill attended. " Oh, that is of little consequence," 
replied the minister, "as the gospel is preached by several 
others in the same neighbourhood ; and in such a situation, for 
any one to be very desirous that people should come and hear 
the gospel from him, instead of others, seems as unreasonable, 
as it would be for one of the salesmen in a large shop, to wish 
all the customers to come to his particular part of the counter. 
If the customers come at all, and the goods go off, in so far as 
he feels an interest in the prosperity of the shop, he will re- 
joice." 

i. 21. — For me — to die is gain. 

" I am no longer disposed," says a Jew, in writing to an- 
other, "to laugh at religion, or to plead that Christianity has 
no comforts in death. I witnessed the last moments of my 
worthy gardener, and wish I may die his death : and, if there 
is happiness in another life, this disciple of Jesus is assuredly 
happy. When the physician told him he was in extreme dan- 
ger, ' How,' said he, * can that be, when God is my Father, 
Jesus my Redeemer, heaven my country, and death the mes- 
senger of peace ? The greatest risk 1 run is to die, but to die 
is to enter into complete and endless bliss.' His last words 
were, * I die, but what needs that trouble me ? My Jesus is 
the true God, and eternal life,'" 

ii. 4. — Look not every man on his own things, 
but every man on the things of others. 

Of the benevolent temper of the Rev. Mr Gilpin, the follow- 
ing instance is related. One day, returning home, he saw in 
a field several people crowding together; and judging some- 
thing more than ordinary had happened, he rode up, and found 
that one of the horses in a team had suddenly dropped down, 
which they were endeavouring to raise, but in vain, for the 



174 PH1L1FPIANS III. 

horse was dead. The owner of it seeming to be much deject- 
ed with the misfortune, and declaring how grievous a loss it 
would be to him, Mr Gilpin bade him not be disheartened : — 
" I'll let you have," said he, " honest man, that horse of mine," 
pointing to his servant's. " Ah! master," replied the country 
man, " my pocket will not reach such a beast as that." " Come, 
come," said Mr Gilpin, " take him, take him, and when I de- 
mand the money, then thou shalt pay me." 

ii. 12, 13 — Work out your own salvation with 

fear and trembling: For it is God which worketh in 

you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 

It is but too common with some professors, under a pretence 
of magnifying the grace of God, to excuse their want of zeal, 
and their negligence in the duties of religion, by pleading that 
they can do nothing, without the sensible influence of grace 
upon their minds. — " I once heard," adds Mr Buck, " a zealous 
minister (now with GodJ talking in his sleep, which was a very 
customary thing with him, and lamenting this disposition in 
some professors, which he thus reproved : ' I am a poor crea- 
ture, says one ; and I can do nothing, says another. No, and 
I am afraid you do not want to do much. I know j ou have no 
strength of your own, but how is it you do not cry to the strong 
for strength ? ' " 

iii. 9. — Not having mine own righteousness, 

which is of the law, but that which is through the 

faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God 

by faith. 

An Indian and a white man, being at worship together, were 
both brought under conviction by the same sermon. The In- 
dian was shortly after led to rejoice in pardoning mercy. The 
white man, for a long time, was under distress of mind, and at 
times almost ready to despair, but at length he was also brought 
to a comfortable experience of forgiving love. Some time af- 
ter, meeting his red brother, he thus addressed him: — " How 
is it, that I should be so long under conviction, when you found 
comfort so soon?" " O brother," replied the Indian, "me 
tell you : there come along a rich prince, he propose to give 
you a new coat ; you look at your coat, and say, I don't know; 
my coat pretty good ; I believe it will do a little longer. He 



PHILIPP1ANS IV. 175 

then offer me new coat; Hook on my old blanket ; I say, this 
good for nothing ; I fling it right away, and accept the new 
coat. Just so, brother, you try to keep your own righteous- 
ness for some time ; you loath to give it up : but I, poor Indian, 
had none ; therefore I glad at once to receive the righteous- 
ness of the Lord Jesus Christ." 

iii. 12. — I follow after, if that I may apprehend 

that for which also I am apprehended of Christ 

Jesus. 

Mr John Welsh, grandson of Mr Welsh of Ayr, being pur- 
sued with unrelenting rigour, was one time quite at a loss where 
to go ; but depending on Scottish hospitality, and especially on 
the providence of God, he in an evening called at the house of 
a gentleman of known hostility to field preachers, and parti- 
cularly to himself. He was kindly received. In the course of 
conversation, Welsh was mentioned, and the difficulty of getting 
hold of him : "I know," says the stranger, " where he is to 
preach to-morrow, and will give you him by the hand." At 
this the gentleman was very glad, and engaged the company 
of his guest with great cordiality. They set off next morning, 
and when they arrived at the congregation, they made way for 
the minister, and also for his host. He desired the gentleman 
to sit down on the chair, where he stood and preached. During 
the sermon, the gentleman seemed much affected. At the 
close, Mr Welsh gave him his hand, which he cheerfully re- 
ceived, and observed, " You said you were sent to apprehend 
rebels, and I, a rebellious sinner, have been apprehended this 
day." 

iv. 11. — I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, 

therewith to be content. 

To a clergyman who once visited Mr Newton when confined 
by weakness, he said, " The Lord has a sovereign right to do 
what he pleases with his own. I trust we are his, in the best 
sense, by purchase, by conquest, and by our own willing con- 
sent. As sinners, we have no right, and if believing sinners, 
we have no reason, to complain ; for all our concerns are in 
the hand of our best friend, who has promised that all things 
shall work together for his glory, and our final benefit. My 
trial is great ; but I am supported, and have many causes for 
daily praise." 



176 rillLIFPlANS IV. 

iv. 18. — I have all, and abound : I am full, having 
received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent 
from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice ac- 
ceptable, well pleasing to God. 

" Last week," says General Burn, " just as my heart was 
poring over the disappointment I met with in my expected 
promotion, and anticipating all the miseries of accumulating 
debt, a dear friend of mine, in the military profession, called 
upon me, and taking- me aside into a private room, made 
me promise I would ask him no questions ; which when I had 
done, with some hesitation, he put a bank note into my hand, 
saying, he was desired to give it me, but with the strongest 
injunctions never to divulge from whence it came. I put it 
into my pocket without looking at it, repeatedly thanking 
him, and my generous benefactor, for the very acceptable pre- 
sent. Dinner being upon the table, we went in, sat down, 
and dined ; my mind all the while occupied about which of 
my creditors 1 should pay off first, imagining I had perhaps 
a ten or twenty pound note, which I longed to look at, but 
was ashamed to do it before my friend. Soon after dinner, 
I took an opportunity to step out of the room to satisfy my 
anxious curiosity. But oh ! how was my heart filled with 
grateful emotions when I found two notes, one of five and 
the other of a hundred pounds, a present of an hundred gui- 
neas ! To attempt a description of my feelings at that time, 
would be in vain ; those who have experienced the overflow- 
ings of a grateful heart can only guess at them. I was so 
overcome with a view of the Lord's goodness, that I knew not 
how to express myself, and was afraid my friend would think 
me insensible of the favour bestowed. When he was gone, 
and 1 had communicated the purport of his visit to Mrs B. we 
both wept, and in broken accents, with eyes and hearts directed 
to Heaven, expressed our obligation to the God of all our mer- 
cies, for his seasonable and ample supply, in answer to our 
united and repeated prayers. — I have now enjoyed the pleasure 
of paying all my debts, of contributing to the relief of others, 
and of purchasing many articles absolutely necessary to my 
family. O how good the Lord has been to us, unworthy as we 
are of the least of all his mercies !" 






COLOSSIANS II. 177 



COLOSSIANS. 

Chap. i. 7 Epaphras — a faithful minister of 

Christ. 

Mr Thomas Shephard was an excellent preacher, and took 
great pains in his preparations for the pulpit. He used to say, 
" God will curse that man's labours who goes idly up and down 
all the week, and then goes into his study on a Saturday after- 
noon. God knows that we have not too much time to pray in, 
and weep in, and get our hearts into a fit frame for the duties 
of the Sabbath." 

i. 28 Warning every man, and teaching every 

man in all wisdom ; that we may present every man 
perfect in Christ Jesus. 

During a recent voyage, sailing in a heavy sea, near a reef 
of rocks, a minister on board the vessel remarked, in a con- 
versation between the man at the helm and the sailors, an 
inquiry whether they should be able to clear the rocks with- 
out making another tack ; when the captain gave orders that 
they should put off to avoid all risk. The minister observed, 
" I am rejoiced that we have so careful a commander." The 
captain replied, " It is necessary I should be very careful, 
because I have souls on board, I think of my responsibility, 
and should any thing happen through carelessness, that souls 
are very valuable !" — The minister, turning to some of his 
congregation, who were upon deck with him, observed, " The 
captain has preached me a powerful sermon ; I hope I shall 
never forget, when I am addressing my fellow creatures on 
the concerns of eternity, that I have souls on board." 

ii. 15. — Having spoiled principalities and powers, 
he made a show of them openly, triumphing over 
them in it. 

Mr Venn, in hid last illness, exhibited at times, in the midst 
of extreme feebleness of body, signs of great joy and gladness. 
Some of his friends, who visited him in his declining state, 
endeavoured to encourage his mind, by bringing to his recol- 



178 COLOSSIANS Til. 

lection his useful labours in the Lord's vineyard. "While one 
of them was enlarging in the same strain, the dying saint, 
raised from a state of oppressive languor, and deeply sensible 
of his own insufficiency, with great animation exclaimed, 
" Miserable comforters are ye all, — I have had many to visit 
me, who have endeavoured to comfort me, by telling me what 
I have done. ' He hath spoiled principalities and powers, — 
He hath made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in 
his cross.' This, Sir, is the source of all my consolation, and 
not any thing I have done." 

ii. 23 — Which things have indeed a show of wis- 
dom in will-worship and humility. 

Thomas-a-Becket, who was afterwards primate of England, 
was a strange compound of affected humility and real pride. 
While he performed the lowly office of washing the feet of 
thirteen beggars every morning, his supercilious, obstinate, 
and turbulent spirit, assumed a proud, overbearing, spiritual, 
authority over his sovereign, whom he was in the habit of 
treating with all the insolence of a licensed censor. 

iii. 2. — Set your affections on things above, and 
not on things on the earth. 

" I could mention the name of a late very opulent and very 
valuable person," says a writer in the Gospel Magazine, 
ik who, though naturally avaricious in the extreme, was liberal 
and beneficent to a proverb. He was aware of his constitu- 
tional sin, and God gave him victory over it, by enabling him 
to run away from it. Lest the dormant love of money should 
awake and stir in his heart, he would not, for many years be- 
fore his death, trust himself with the sight of his revenues. He 
kept, indeed, his accounts as clearly and exactly as any man 
in the world, but he dared not receive, because he dared not 
look at that gold, which he feared would prove a snare to his 
affections. His stewards received all, and retained all in their 
own hands, till they received orders how to dispose of it." 

iii* 20 — Children, obey your parents in all things : 
for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord. 

"When the late Rev. Richard Cecil was but a little boy, his 



COLOSSIANS IV, 179 

father had occasion to go to the India House, and took his 
son with him. While he was transacting business, the little 
fellow was dismissed, and told to wait for his father at one 
of the doors. His father, on finishing his business, went out 
at another door, and entirely forgot his son. In the evening, 
his mother missing the child, inquired were he was ; on which 
his father suddenly recollected that he had directed him to wait 
at a certain door, said, " You may depend upon it, he is still 
waiting where I appointed him." He immediately returned to 
the India House, and found his dear boy on the very spot 
he had ordered him to remain. He knew that his father ex- 
pected him to wait, and therefore he would not disappoint 
him. 

iv. 1. — Masters, give unto your servants that which 
is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a Mas- 
ter in heaven. 

A poor black boy, the property of a slave-holder in Africa, 
having heard of the preaching of the missionaries, felt a strong 
desire to go and hear about Jesus Christ. For this purpose 
he crept secretly away one evening, but being obliged to pass 
under the window of the house, his master observed him, and 
called out, " Where are you going? ' The poor fellow came 
back trembling, and said, •' Me go to hear the missionaries, 
massa." " To hear the missionaries, indeed; if ever you go 
there, you shall have nine and thirty lashes, and be put in 
irons." With a disconsolate look, the poor black replied, 
" Me tell Massa, me tell the great Massa." " Tell the great 
Massa," replied the master, " what do you mean ?" " Me tell 
the great Massa, the Lord in heaven, that my massa was an- 
gry with me, because I wanted to go andhear his word." The 
master was struck with astonishment, his colour changed, and 
unable to conceal his feelings, he hastily turned away, saying, 
" Go along, and hear the missionaries." Being thus permit- 
ted, the poor boy gladly complied. In the mean time, the 
mind of the master became restless and uneasy. He had not 
been accustomed to think that he had a Master in heaven, who 
knew and observed all his actions ; and he at length determin- 
ed to follow his slave, and see if there could be any peace 
obtained for his troubled spirit ; and creeping unobserved, he 
slunk into a secret corner, and eagerly listened to the words 
of the missionary. That day, Mr Kircherer addressed the 



180 I THESSALONIANS I. 

natives from those words, — " Lovest thou me?" " Is there 
no poor sinner," said he, " who can answer this question ? not 
one poor slave who dares to confess him ?" Here the poor slave 
boy, unable to restrain any longer, sprang up, and holding up 
both his hands, while the tears streamed down his cheeks, cried 
out with eagerness, " Yes, massa, me love the Lord Jesus 
Christ; me do love him, me love him with all my heart." 
The master was still more astonished, and he went home con- 
vinced of the blessings the gospel brings, and became a decided 
Christian. 

iv. 5. — Redeeming the time. 

Mr Joseph Alleine, when in health, rose constantly at or be- 
fore four o'clock, and on Sabbath sooner, if he awoke. He 
was much troubled if he heard any smiths, or shoemakers, or 
other tradesmen at work, before he was in his duties with God, 
often saying to his wife, " Ohow this noise shames me. Does 
not my Master deserve more than theirs ?" He used often to 
say, " Give me a Christian that counts his time more precious 
than gold." 



I THESSALONIANS. 

Chap. i. 5. — Our gospel came not unto you in word 
only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and 
in much assurance. 

About forty or fifty years ago, a clergyman, who was a 
widower, married the widow of a deceased clergyman of ano- 
ther denomination. She was a woman highly esteemed for 
her correct views of divine truth, and for sincere and consis- 
tent piety. She had not accompanied her new companion in 
his public and social worship a long time before she became 
pensive and dejected. This awakened the solicitude of her 
husband. He insisted on knowing the cause. At length with 
trembling hesitancy, she observed, " Sir, your preaching 
would starve all the Christians in the world." " Starve all 
the Christians in the world !" said the astonished preacher ; 
" why, do I not speak the truth?" " Yes," replied" the lady 



I THESSALONIANS II. 181 

" and so you would were you to stand in the desk all day, and 
say my name is Mary. But, Sir, there is something beside 
the letter in the truth of the gospel." The result was, a very 
important change in the ministerial efforts of the clergyman ; 
after which his wife sat and heard him preach with great de- 
light. 

i. 10. — And to wait for his Son from heaven. 

Little more than half an hour before Dr Watts expired, he 
was visited by his dear friend Mr Whitfield. The latter ask- 
ing him how he found himself, the doctor answered, " Here I 
am, one of Christ's waiting servants." Soon after, some me- 
dicine was brought in, and Mr Whitfield assisted in raising him 
up in the bed, that he might with more convenience take the 
draught. On the doctor's apologising for the trouble he gave 
Mr Whitfield, the latter replied with his usual amiable polite- 
ness, " Surely, my dear brother, I am not too good to wait on 
a waiting servant of Christ's." Soon after, Mr Whitfield took 
his leave, and often afterwards regretted, that he had not pro- 
longed his visit, which he would certainly have done, could he 
have foreseen his friend was but within half an hour's distance 
of the kingdom of glory. 

ii. 6 — Nor of men sought we glory. 

Upon a certain high churchman's refusing to style Dr Owen 
Reverend, he wrote to him thus : " For the title of Reverend, 
I do give him notice, that I have very little valued it ever since 
I have considered the saying of Luther, ' Religion never was 
endangered except among the most Reverends;' so that he may, 
as to me, forbear it for the future, and call me as the Quakers 
do, and it shall suffice. And for that of Doctor, it was conferred 
on me by the university in my absence, and against my consent, 
as they have expressed it under their public seal : nor doth anv 
thing but gratitude and respect unto them, make me ouce own it ; 
and, freed from that obligation, I should never use it more ; 
nor did I use it, until some were offended with me, and blamed 
me for my neglect. 

ii. 19, 20 — For what is our hope, or joy, or 
crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the presence 



182 I THESSALONIANS IV. 

of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ? For ye are 
our glory and joy. 

Archbishop Williams once said to a friend of his, " I have 
passed through many places of honour and trust both in Church 
and State, more than any of my order in England these seventy 
years back ; yet were I but assured that by my preaching I had 
but converted one soul to God, I should take therein more 
spiritual joy and comfort, than in all the honours and offices 
which have been bestowed upon me." 



iii. 10. — Night and day praying exceedingly. 



, 



Mr Hervey's man-servant slept in the room immediate! 
above that of his master. One night, long after the whole fa- 
mily had retired to rest, he awoke, hearing the groans of Mr 
Hervey in the room beneath, who seemed to be in great dis- 
tress. He went down stairs, and opened the door of his mas> 
ter's room, but instead of finding him in bed as he expected, 
he saw him prostrate on the floor, engaged in earnest and im- 
portunate prayer to his God. Disturbed by this unseasonable 
appearance, Mr Hervey, with his usual mildness, said, " John, 
you should not have entered the room, unless I had rung the 
bell." Communion with God in prayer, will turn night into 
day. 

iv. 5. — The Gentiles which know not God. 

" Tt is stated in the history of England," says Dr Philip, 
in an address delivered at one of the London Anniversaries, 
" that when the first missionary who arrived in Kent, present- 
ed himself before the king, to solicit permission to preach the 
gospel in his dominions, after long deliberation, when a nega- 
tive was about to be put upon his application, an aged coun- 
sellor, with his head silvered over with grey hairs, rose, and 
by the following speech obtained the permission which was 
requested. ' Here we are,' said the orator, ' like birds of pas- 
sage, we know not whence we come, or whither we are going ; 
if this man can tell us, for God's sake let him speak.' I say, 
if there are six hundred millions of our fellow-creatures, who, 
like birds of passage, know not whence they came, nor whither 
they are going, for God's sake let us send them the gospel, 
which will tell them whence they came, and which is able to 
make them wise unto salvation." 



I THESSALONIANS V. 183 

iv. 13. — I would not have you to be ignorant, 
brethren, concerning them which are asleep ; that 
ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 

Mr Newton of London, one day said to a gentleman, who 
had lately lost a daughter by death, " Sir, if you were going 
to the East Indies, I suppose you would like to send a remit- 
tance before you. This little girl is just like a remittance 
sent to heaven before you go yourself. I suppose a merchant 
on Change is never heard expressing himself thus: — ' O my 
dear ship, I am sorry she has got into port so soon ! I am 
sorry she has escaped the storms that are coming !' Neither 
should we sorrow for children dying." 

v. 17 — Pray without ceasing. 

A sailor who had been long absent from his native country, 
returned home, flushed with money. Coming to London, 
where he had never been before, he resolved to gratify himself 
with the sight of whatever was remarkable. Among other 
places, he visited St Paul's. It happened to be at the time 
of divine service. When carelessly passing, he heard the 
words, " Pray without ceasing," uttered by the minister, with- 
out having any impression made on his mind by them. Hav- 
ing satisfied his curiosity in London, he returned to his marine 
pursuits, and continued at sea for seven years, without any re- 
markable occurrence in his history. One fine evening, when 
the air was soft, the breeze gentle, the heavens serene, and the 
ocean calm, he was walking the deck, with his feelings soothed 
by the pleasing aspect of nature, when all on a sudden darted 
on his mind the words, " Pray without ceasing !" " Pray 
without ceasing ! What words can these be ?" he exclaimed : 
" I think I have heard them before: where could it be?" 
After a pause, — " O, it was at St Paul's in London, the minis- 
ter read them from the Bible. What ! and do the Scriptures 
say, ' Pray without ceasing ?' Oh what a wretch must I be, 
to have lived so long without praying at all I" — God, who at 
first caused him to hear this passage in his ear, now caused it 
spring up, in a way, at a time, and with a power peculiarly his 
own. The poor fellow now found the lightning of conviction 
flash on his conscience, — the thunders of the law shake his 
heart, — and the great deep of destruction threaten to swallow 
him up. Now he began, for the first time, to pray ; but pray- 



1 84 II THESSALONIANS I. 

ing was not all ! " Oh," said he, " if I had a Bible, or some 
good book !" He rummaged his chest, when, in a corner, he 
espied a Bible which his anxious mother had, twenty years be- 
fore, placed in his chest, but which till now he had never open- 
ed. He snatched it up, put it to his breast, then read, wept, 
prayed ; he believed, and became a new man. 

v. 21.— Prove all things : hold fast that which is 
good. 

A gentleman was once asked in company, what led him to 
embrace the truths of the gospel, which formerly he was known 
to have neglected and despised ! He said, " My call and 
conversion to God my Saviour were produced by very singular 
means : — A person put into my hands Paine's ' Age of Rea- 
son.' I read it with attention, and was much struck with the 
strong and ridiculous representation he made of many passages 
in the Bible. I confess, to my shame, I had never read the 
Bible through ; but from what I remembered to have heard at 
church, and accidentally on other occasions, I could not per- 
suade myself tha.t Paine's report was quite exact, or that the 
Bible was quite so absurd a book as he represented it. I re- 
solved therefore that I would read the Bible regularly through, 
and compare the passages when I had done so, that I might 
give the Bible fair play. I accordingly set myself to the task, 
and as I advanced, I was struck with the majesty which spoke, 
the awfulness of the truths contained in it, and the strong evi- 
dence of its divine origin, which increased with every page, so 
that I finished my inquiry with the fullest satisfaction of the 
truth as it is in Jesus, and my heart was penetrated with a sense 
of obligation I had never felt before. I resolved henceforth to 
take the sacred word for my guide, and to be a faithful follower 
of the Son of God." 



II. THESSALONIANS. 

Chap. i. 6. — It is a righteous thing with God to 
recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. 

About the year 1738, when some of the ministers of the Se- 
cession were preaching at Braid's Craigs, in the vicinity of 



II THESSALONIANS II. 185 

Edinburgh, a man had the hardihood to set fire to some furze 
bushes in the immediate neighbourhood of the^spot where a nu- 
merous audience was assembled, concluding from the direction 
and force of the wind, that the smoke proceeding from the burn- 
ing bushes would exceedingly annoy the Seceders. It so hap- 
pened, however, in the good providence of God, that the wind 
immediately veered about to another quarter, and the assembly 
suffered no inconvenience. The impious project, in the mean- 
time, attracted the notice of the ministers as well as the peo- 
ple ; Mr Ralph Erskine publicly remarked, that the person who 
had been guilty of that deed would perhaps live to repent of it. 
That same individual, it is credibly related, was afterwards 
three times driven from his own dwelling by means of fire. 
First one house he occupied on Clerkington estate was burned 
down, and then another ; on which his master dismissed him, 
saying, " That man would burn all the houses on his property." 
He removed, in consequence, to Prestonpans, where a similar 
calamity befel him, the truth of which was attested by a very 
old woman in Edinburgh, who affirmed that, when a child, she 
made a very narrow escape from the flames of that house, being 
let down from a window in a blanket. 

i. 9. — Who shall be punished with everlasting 
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from 
the glory of his power. 

Mr W. a Universalist, preaching at the village of M , 

where a large congregation had come out to hear something 
new, endeavoured to convince his hearers that there is no 
punishment after death. At the close of his sermon, he in- 
formed the people, that if they wished, he would preach there 
again in four weeks; when Mr C, a respectable merchant, 
rose, and replied, " Sir, if your doctrine is true, we do not 
need you; and if it is false, we do not want you." 

ii. 3, 4 — That man of sin, the son of perdition ; 
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is 
called God, or that is worshipped. 

One day, after prayer, King Charles I. asked Mr Robert 
Blair, an eminent Scottish minister, if it was warrantable in 
prayer to determine a controversy. Mr Blair taking the hint, 



186 II THESSALONIANS III. 

said, he thought he had determined no controversy in that 
prayer. " Yes,'' said the king, " you have determined the 
Pope to be antichrist, which is a controversy among divines." 
To this Mr Blair replied, " To me this is no controversy, 
and I am sorry it should be accounted so by your majesty; 
sure it was none to your father." This silenced the king, 
for he was a great defender of his father's opinions ; and his 
testimony, Mr Blair knew well, was of more authority with him 
than the testimony of any divine. 

ii. 13. — God hath from the beginning chosen you 
to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and 
belief of the truth. 

The Rev. Dr Lawson, in a discourse on the Sovereignty of 
Grace in the conversion of sinners, made the following decla- 
ration : — " For my part I am firmly persuaded that all my 
hope must rest upon the richness and sovereignty of the mercy 
of God in Christ Jesus. I am persuaded that millions already 
in hell were far less criminal when they left the world than I have 
been. I am sensible that I can never make myself a fitter sub- 
ject of mercy than I am at this moment ; and that therefore I 
must follow to the pit those miserable wretches that are groan- 
ing under the wrath of God, unless I am plucked as a brand 
out of the burning. A doctrine so necessary to my hope and 
peace as the sovereignty of divine mercy I hope never to re- 
nounce." 

lii. 6. — Withdraw yourselves from every brother 

that walketh disorderly. 

Sir Peter Lely made it a rule, never to look at a bad pic- 
ture, having found by experience, that, whenever he did so, 
his pencil took a tint from it. " Apply this," adds Bishop 
Home, " to bad books and bad company." 

iii. 10. — This we commanded you, that if any 
would not work, neither should he eat. 

Pisistratus, the Grecian general, walking through some of 
his fields, several persons implored his charity. " If you want 
heasts to plough your land," said he, " I will lend you some; 
if you want land, I will give you some ; if you want seed to sow 



I TIMOTHY I. 187 

your land, I will give you some ; but I will encourage none in 
idleness" By this conduct, in a short time, there was not a 
beggar in his dominions. 



I TIMOTHY. 

Chap. i. 9. — The law is not made for a righteous 
man, but for the lawless and disobedient — for mur- 
derers of fathers and murderers of mothers. 

In 1815, a person was brought before the Court of Vannes, 
in France, accused of the murder of his mother. It appeared 
by the evidence given on the trial, that he had returned home 
intoxicated and wet through with the rain ; on his arrival, 
he took it into his head to get into the oven in order to warm 
and dry himself, but the oven having been heated not long 
before, he burnt his hands and knees in the attempt : this 
rendered him furious, and he returned to the room in which 
all the family slept, and which was in total darkness ; he there 
fell into a passion against his son, a lad of 14 years, for not 
having told him that the oven had been lately heated, and took 
up a large bar in order to strike him. His father, more than 
sixty years old, ran and endeavoured to cool the rage of his 
son, but this only enraged him the more, and he was about to 
strike him, when his mother went to the assistance of her hus- 
band. She was no sooner come near him, than the prisoner 
struck her twice on the head with the bar, of which blows she 
died in a few hours afterwards, praying heaven for the pardon 
of her son. During the trial, the prisoner constantly denied 
these facts ; but the Jury having unanimously found him guilty, 
he was sentenced, as a parricide, to be conducted to the place 
of execution in a shirt with his feet naked, and his head covered 
w T ith a black veil, to have his right hand struck off, and after- 
wards to be beheaded. 

i. 12, 13. — Putting me into the ministry; who 
was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and in- 
jurious. 

Several years ago, a charity sermon was preached in a dis- 



188 I TIMOTHY II. 

senting chapel in the west of England ; and when the preacher 
ascended the pulpit, he thus addressed his hearers: — " My 
brethren, before I proceed to the duties of this evening, allow 
me to relate a short anecdote. Many years have elapsed since 
I was within the walls of this house. Upon that very evening 
there came three young men, with the intention not only of 
scoffing at the minister, but with their pockets filled with 
stones for the purpose of assaulting him. After a few words, 
one of them said with an oath — ' Let us be at him now' — 
but the second replied, ' No, stop till we hear what he makes 
of this point.' The minister went on, when the second said, 
' We have heard enough, now throw !' But the third inter- 
fered, saying, ' He is not so foolish as I expected, let us 
hear him out.' The preacher concluded without having been 
interrupted. Now mark me, my brethren — of these three young 
men, one was executed a few months ago at Newgate, for for- 
gery — the second lies under sentence of death at this moment 
in the jail of this city, for murder : the other (continued the 
minister with great emotion), the third, through the infinite 
grace of God, is even now about to address you — listen to 
him." 

ii. 8 I will therefore that men pray every where, 

lifting up holy hands, without wrath, and doubting. 

Mr John Kilpin, father of the late Rev. Samuel Kilpin of 
Exeter, having, from some cause, displeased a member of the 
church ; at a prayer meeting, his offended brother used most 
unbecoming expressions respecting him in prayer. On his 
family's offering their sympathy, and expressing resentment, 
he said, with a mind unruffled, " I was not the least hurt on 
my own account ; such talking never goes any higher than the 
ceiling; the God of love never admits it as prayer." 

ii. 9. — In like manner also, that women adorn 
themselves in modest apparel — not with broidered 
hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array. 

A minister of the gospel occasionally visiting a gay person, 
was introduced to a room near to that in which she dressed. 
After waiting some hours, the lady came in and found him 
in tears. She inquired the reason of his weeping ; the minister 



I TIMOTHY IV. 189 

replied, " Madam, I weep on reflecting that you can spend so 
many hours before your glass, and in adorning your person, 
while I spend so few hours before my God, and in adorning 
my soul." The rebuke struck her conscience, — she lived and 
died a monument of grace. 

iii. 6 — Not a novice, lest being lifted up with 
pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 

" The apprehension of cursed pride (the sin of young mi- 
nisters), working in my heart," says Dr Cotton Mather, " fill- 
ed me with an inexpressible bitterness and confusion before 
the Lord. In my youth, when some others of my age were 
playing in the streets, I was preaching to large assemblies, and 
I was honoured with great respect among the people of God. 
I feared (and thanks be to God that he made me fear), lest 
Satan was hereby preparing a snare and a pit for such a novice. 
I therefore resolved, that I would set apart a day to humble 
myself before God, for the pride of my own heart, and to sup- 
plicate his grace to deliver me from that sin, and from the 
dreadful wrath it would expose me to." 

iii. 16. — God was manifest in the flesh — preached 

unto the Gentiles. 

The late Bishop F , of Salisbury, having procured a 

young clergyman of promising abilities to preach before the 
king ; and the young man having, in his lordship's opinion, 
acquitted himself well, the bishop, in conversation with the king 
afterwards, wishing to get his sovereign's opinion, took the 
liberty to say, " Does not your majesty think that the young 
man, who had the honour to preach before your majesty, is 
likely to make a good clergyman, and has this morning deliver- 
ed a very good sermon? 1 ' To which the king, in his blunt 
manner, hastily replied, " It might have been a good sermon, my 
lord ; but I consider no sermon good that has nothing of Christ 
in it." 

iv 8 — Godliness is profitable unto all things; 
having promise of the life that now is, and of that 
which is to come. 

" O blessed be God that I was born," said the pious Haly- 



190 I TIMOTHY IV. 

burton when dying. " I have a father and a mother, and ten 
brethren and sisters in heaven, and I shall be the eleventh. 
O blessed be the day that I was ever born ! O that I were 
where he is ! And yet were God to withdraw from me, I 
should be weak as water. All that I enjoy, though it be mi- 
racle on miracle, would not support me without fresh supplies 
from God. The thing I rejoice in is this, that God is alto- 
gether full ; and that in the Mediator Christ Jesus is all the 
fulness of the Godhead, and it will never run out. Study the 
power of religion. 'Tis the power of religion, and not a name, 
that will give the comfort I find. There is telling in this pro- 
vidence, and I shall be telling it to eternity. If there be such 
a glory in his conduct towards me now, what will it be to see 
the Lamb in the midst of the throne ? My peace hath been 
like a river." Soon after, one of those about him having said, 
" You are now putting your seal to that truth, that great is the 
gain of godliness." He replied, "Yes, indeed." Then said 
another, " And I hope you are encouraging yourself in the 
Lord ?" On which not being able to speak, he lifted up his 
hands and clapped them ; and quickly after, went to the land 
where the weary are at rest. 

iv. 16. — Take heed unto thyself, and unto the 
doctrine ; continue in them : for in doing this 
thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear 
thee. 

At a ministers' meeting at Northampton, a question was dis- 
cussed, to the following purport : — To what causes in ministers 
may much of their want of success be imputed f The answer 
turned chiefly upon the want of personal religion ; particularly 
the neglect of close dealing with God in closet prayer. Jer. x. 21 
was referred to : " Their pastors are become brutish, and have 
not sought the Lord ; therefore they shall not prosper, and their 
flocks shall be scattered." Another reason assigned was the 
want of reading and studying the Scriptures more as Christians, 
for the edification of their own souls. " We are too apt to 
study them," adds Mr Fuller, " merely to find out something 
to say to others, without living upon the truth ourselves. If 
we eat not the book, before we deliver its contents to others, 
we may expect the Holy Spirit will not much accompany us. 
If we study the Scriptures as Christians, the more familiar we 



1 TIMOTHY V. 191 

are with them, the more we shall feel their importance ; but, 
if otherwise, our familiarity with the word will be like that of 
soldiers and doctors with death — it will wear away all sense of 
its importance from our minds. To enforce this sentiment, 
Prov. xxii. 17, IS, was referred to — ' Apply thine heart to 
knowledge : the words of the wise will be pleasant if thou keep 
them within thee ; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.' An- 
other reason was, our want of being emptied of self-sufficiency. 
In proportion as we lean upon our own gifts, or parts, or pre- 
parations, we slight the Holy Spirit ; and no wonder that, be- 
ing grieved, he should leave us to do our work alone." 

v. 6. — She that liveth in pleasure, is dead while 

she liveth. 

The late pious Mrs Judson, referring to her former neglect 
of religion, says, " The first circumstance which in any mea- 
sure awakened me from this sleep of death, was the following : 
— One Sabbath morning, having prepared myself to attend 
public worship, just as I was leaving my toilet, I accidentally 
took up Hannah More's Strictures on Female Education, and 
the words that caught my eye, were, l She that liveth in plea- 
sure, is dead while she liveth.' They were printed in Italics, 
with marks of admiration, and they struck me to the heart. I 
stood for a few moments amazed at the incident, and half in- 
clined to think that some invisible agency had directed my eye 
to these words. At first, I thought I would live a different 
life, and be more serious and sedate ; but at last, I thought 
that the words were not applicable to me, as I first imagined, 
and resolved to think no more of them." 

v. 20, 21. — Them that sin, rebuke before all, that 
others also may fear. Doing nothing by partiality. 

The late Mr B. was entertaining himself one day with see- 
ing some of his parishioners catching salmon. At the same 
time came Colonel with several gentlemen. As the for- 
mer, who was at that time a justice of the peace, was swearing 
in a very profane manner, Mr B. thus addressed him : — " Sir, 
you are a justice of the peace, and a gentleman of family and 
fortune, therefore your example to all should become the state 
in which kind Providence has placed you." He answered, 
*■ Sir, I will not come and swear in your church." This was 
spoken with great bitterness. Mr B. then left him, but the 



192 I TIMOTHY VI. 

fishermen afterwards said that the gentleman was very angry, 
and declared that if the minister had not gone away, he would 
have beaten him. But his future conduct towards Mr B. be- 
came the gentleman ; for, some time afterwards, Mr B. having 
some business to transact with the justice, the latter at first 
sight thanked him for his reproof, but added, that he should 
not have given it in so public a manner. Mr B. replied, " Sir, 
my reason for doing so, w r as because the fishermen who were 
present are my parishioners ; and as swearing is a prevailing 
vice with them, I am frequently under the necessity of reprov- 
ing them. Therefore, Sir, reflect but a moment, and you will 
see the propriety of what I did, and of the public manner in 
which I did it. Would not the fishermen have said, that the 
minister could reprove them, but that he was afraid to repri 
mand the justice, had they not witnessed the contrary ?" Suf 
fice it to say, that the gentleman was pleased with Mr B.'s re- 
mark, and ever after treated him with the greatest kindness 
and respect. 

vi. 9 — They that will be rich, fall into temptation 

and a snare. 

Mr Newton of London, coming out of church, on a Wednes- 
day, a lady stopped him on the steps, and said, " The ticket, 
of which I held a quarter, is drawn a prize of ten thousand 
pounds : I know you will congratulate me upon the occasion." 
" Madam," said he, " as for a friend under temptation, I will 
endeavour to pray for you." 

vi. 18 That they do good, that they be rich in 

good works, ready to distribute, willing to commu- 
nicate. 

A rich old gentleman residing at Manchester, was lately 
called upon by some members of the Bible Society there, to 
subscribe his mite ; he replied, " he had been thinking about 
it, but would first wish to become acquainted with their plans," 
Sec. and wished them to call again. Some time after, they did 
so, and he told them he had made up his mind to subscribe a 
guinea a- year, and immediately began to count out upon the 
table a quantity of guineas : when he had got to twenty-one, the 
gentlemen stopped him, and said, as their time was rather pre- 
cious, they should feel obliged if he would give his subscription, 



II TIMOTHY I. 193 

that they might go. The old gentleman still continuing to 
count them out upon the table, they interrupted him a second 
time, when he simply hoped the gentlemen would suffer him to 
go on, and on he went till he had counted down eighty guineas. 
" There, gentlemen," cried the old man, " I promised you a 
subscription of a guinea a-year ; I am eighty years old, and 
there are the eighty guineas." 



II TIMOTHY. 

Chap. i. 10. — Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who 
hath abolished death, and hath brought life and im- 
mortality to light through the gospel. 

General Burn had, during his residence in France, unhappi- 
ly imbibed infidel sentiments, so far, at one time, as to doubt 
the immortality of the soul. Though these sentiments and 
doubts were afterwards removed, not only by a thorough con- 
viction of the truth of Christianity, and after diligent investi- 
gation, but by personal experience of the power of religion on 
his heart, they nevertheless did him lasting injury, and in after 
life often afforded Satan the means of distressing this holy man. 
At one period of extreme weakness and suffering, during his 
last illness, the great enemy of souls was permitted to harass 
him, by suggesting the thought, that perhaps annihilation 
would follow death. He mentioned this temptation to one of 
his children, standing by the bed-side, who replied, " Life and 
immortality are brought to light by the gospel." This pas- 
sage of Scripture immediately dissipated his fears, and proved 
a shield against the- temptations of the devil ; — he reclined his 
head again on the pillow, and for some time after, his beaming 
countenance indicated the sweetest serenity and joy. 

i. 13 — Hold fast the form of sound words, which 

thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in 

Christ Jesus. 

The celebrated Claude, a French minister, said on his death- 
bed, " I have carefully examined all religions. No one appears 
to me worthy of the wisdom of God, and capable of leading 



194 II TIMOTHY II. 

men to happiness, but the christian religion. I have diligently 
studied popery and protestantism. The protestant religion 
is, I think, the only good religion. It is all founded on the 
Holy Scriptures, the word of God. From this, as from a foun- 
tain, all religion must be drawn. Scripture is the root, the 
protestant religion is the trunk and branches of the tree. It 
becomes you all to keep steady to it." 

ii. 1. — Be strong in the grace that is in Christ 
Jesus. 

Luther relates concerning one Staupicius, a German divine, 
that he acknowledged that before he came to understand the 
free and powerful grace of Christ, he resolved, and vowed a 
hundred times against a partic r sin; yet could never get 
power over it, nor his heart purified from it, till he came to see 
that he trusted too much to his own resolutions, and too little 
to Jesus Christ ; but when his faith had engaged against his 
sin, he obtained the victory. 

ii. 25. — In meekness instructing those that op- 
pose themselves ; if God peradventure will give 
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. 

Dr Dwight mentions a man of his acquaintance, of a vehe- 
ment temper, who had a dispute with a friend, a professor of 
religion. He met with so much frankness, humility, and kind- 
ness in his christian friend, that, on returning home, he said to 
himself, " There must be something more in religion than I 
have hitherto suspected. Were any one to address me in the 
tone of haughtiness and provocation with which I accosted my 
friend this evening, it would be impossible for me to preserve 
the equanimity of which I have been a witness. There is some- 
thing in this man's disposition which is not in mine. There is 
something in the religion which he professes, and which I am 
forced to believe he feels ; something which makes him so su- 
perior, so much better, so much more amiable than I can pre- 
tend to be. The subject strikes me in a manner to which I 
have hitherto been a stranger. It is high time to examine it 
more thoroughly, with more candour, and with greater solici- 
tude than I have done hitherto." From this incident, a train 
of thoughts and emotions commenced in the mind of this man, 
which terminated in his profession of the christian religion, his 



It TIMOTHY IV. 195 

relinquishment of the business in which he was engaged, and 
his consecration of himself to the ministry of the gospel. 

iii. 2. — Men shall be — blasphemers. 

Some time ago, a party of profligate young men were sitting 
drinking, and, while in a state of intoxication, two of them 
agreed, for a sum of money, to try their skill in blasphemy ; — 
the prize to be given to him who should be unanimously con- 
sidered to have poured out the most horrible imprecations and 
blasphemies. One of them having had greater opportunities 
of improvement in vice, and being also perfectly familiar with 
all kinds of sea-slang, was unanimously acknowledged con- 
queror. Crowned with this hellish honour, he left the place ; 
but not reaching home so soon as was expected, a person was 
despatched in search of him. The wretched man was found in 
a field near a ditch, quite dead, and a scythe near him. From 
the position of the body, it was supposed that he had taken up 
the scythe, intending either to throw it into the ditch for a 
frolic, or to try his skill at a stroke ; but, being in liquor, he 
had fallen over on the scythes sharp edge ; for he was found 
lying in a pool of his own blood, with the main artery of his 
thigh completely cut through. Thus, in a fit of drunkenness, 
and bearing off the prize as the most accomplished blasphemer, 
he was hurried into eternity ! 

iii. 5. — From such turn away. 

Judge Buller, when in the company of a young gentleman 
of sixteen, cautioned him against being led astray by the ex- 
ample or persuasion of others, and said, " If I had listened to 
the advice of some of those who called themselves my friends, 
when I was young, instead of being a judge of the King's 
Bench, I should have died long ago a prisoner in the King's 
Bench." 

iv. 2 — Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long- 
suffering. 

The natural temper of the late Rev. Andrew Fuller of Ket- 
tering, though neither churlish nor morose, was not distin- 
guished by gentleness, meekness, or affability. He could rare- 
ly be faithful without being severe ; and in giving reproof, he 
was often betrayed into intemperate zeal. Once, at a me p * : 



196 TITUS I. 

of ministers, he took occasion to correct an erroneous opinion, 
delivered by one of his brethren ; and he laid on his censure so 
heavily, that Dr Ryland called out vehemently, in his own pe- 
culiar tone of voice, " Brother Fuller ! brother Fuller ! you 
can never admonish a mistaken friend, but you must take up a 
sledge-hammer and knock his brains out ! " 

iv. 5. — Watch thou in all things, endure afflic- 
tions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof 
of thy ministry. 

To a person who regretted to Dr Johnson that he had not 
been a clergyman, because he considered the life of a clergy- 
man an easy and comfortable one, the doctor made this memor- 
able reply : " The life of a conscientious clergyman is not 
easy. I have always considered a clergyman as the father of a 
larger family than he is able to maintain. No, Sir, I do not 
envy a clergyman's life as an easy life, nor 4o I envy the clergy- 
man who makes it an easy life." 



TITUS. 

Chap. i. 7- — Not given to filthy lucre. 

In the reign of James II., Dr Wallis was then dean of Wa- 
terford, in Ireland, and, during the troubles of that unhappy 
country at that period, suffered greatly in his private fortune, 
from his strong attachment to the protestant faith. After 
peace was restored, and the protestant religion firmly esta- 
blished by the accession of King William, Wallis was present- 
ed at the court of London, as n gentleman who had well merit- 
ed the royal patronage. The king had before heard the story 
of his sufferings : and therefore, immediately turning to the 
dean, desired him to choose any church preferment then vacant. 
Wallis, with all the modesty incident to men of real worth, af- 
ter a due acknowledgment of the royal favour, requested the 
deanery of Derry. " How," replied the king, in a transport of 
surprise, " ask the deanery, when you must know the bishopric 
of that very place is also vacant?" " True, my liege," replied 
Wallis, '* I do know it ; but could not in honesty demand so 
great a benefice, conscious there are many other gentlemen 



TITUS II. 197 

who have suffered more than myself, and deserved better at 
your Majesty's hands ; I therefore presume to repeat my for- 
mer request." It is needless to add, his request was granted. 
They parted; the dean highly satisfied with his visit, and the 
king astonished at the noble instance of disinterestedness of 
which he had just been a witness. 

i. 15. — Unto the pure, all things are pure. 

A little girl, not six years old, who attended a Sabbath- 
school, and had just begun to read in the New Testament, was 
promised a hymn-book, on condition that she would learn to read 
the fifth and sixth chapters of Matthew's Gospel within the space 
of a fortnight. She immediately undertook the task, and some 
time after, when reading to the gentleman who promised the 
rew r ard, he caused her to stop at the end of the first twelve 
verses, in order to inquire of her, which of the qualities de- 
scribed in the beatitudes she should desire most to possess. 
Pausing a little, with a modest smile, she replied, " I would 
rather be pure in heart." On being asked the reason of her 
preference, she answered to this effect: " Sir, if I could but 
obtain a pure heart, I should then possess all the other good 
qualities spoken of in this chapter." 

ii. 6.- — Young men likewise exhort to be sober- 
minded. 

The late Mr Walker, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, 
was naturally of a sanguine and somewhat choleric tempera- 
ment ; but his manners and general deportment were singular- 
ly patient and calm. He used to give the following account 
of the conquest which he obtained over his constitutional irri- 
tability : — " When I was a young man, I had engaged to be 
at the marriage of a friend, and promised myself much pleasure 
on the occasion. I dreamed that I was on the way to the scene 
of festivity, and that I had a bridge to pass over. When I ar- 
rived at it, my horse became restive, and would not proceed. 
I used the whip and spur without success. I dismounted, and 
lashed him ; but all in vain. My passion was excited in a high 
degree ; and the sensations produced by the impetuosity of my 
temper awoke me. In the instant of awaking, I beheld the 
bridge fall ; while a voice, as I thought, struck my ear, — 
* young man, be sober-minded.' The recollection of this 
circumstance, though a dream, produced a happy effect, for 
the future, in my constitutional impatience." 



198 TITUS III. 

ii. 15 — Rebuke with all authority. Let no man 
despise thee. 

When the late Rev. Mr K was settled in his congrega* 

tion of S , they could not furnish him with a manse, or even 

with lodgings. In these circumstances, a Captain P , in 

the neighbourhood, though a stranger to religion, generously 
took him into his family, and gave him his board, it is.believed, 
gratuitously. But our young clergyman soon found himself 
in very unpleasant circumstances, owing to the captain's usual 
practice of profane swearing. Satisfied of his duty, however, 
he determined to perform it at all hazards. Accordingly, one 
day at table, after a very liberal volley of oaths from the cap- 
tain, he observed calmly, " Captain, you have certainly on the 
present occasion made use of a number of very improper 
terms." The captain, who was rather a choleric man, was in- 
stantly in a blaze. " Pray, Sir, what improper terms have I 
used ?" " Surely, captain, you must know," replied the clergy- 
man with greater coolness, " and having already put me to the 
pain of hearing them, you cannot be in earnest in imposing 
upon me the additional pain of repeating them." " You are 
right, Sir," resumed the captain, "you are right. Support 
your character, and we will respect you. We have a parcel 
of clergymen around us here, who seem quite uneasy till they 
get us to understand that we may use any freedoms we please 
before them, and we despise them." It ought to be known, 
that the captain never afterwards repeated the offence in his 

presence, and always treated Mr K with marked respect, 

and befriended him in all his interests. 

iii. 2 — Speak evil of no man. 

The late Dr Waugh of London had a marked dislike of 
every thing bordering on slander or defamation. The follow- 
ing is an illustration of his character in this point. — One of his 
people had travelled all the way from Newtown to his father's, 
where he usually resided, to communicate to him an unfavour- 
able report concerning another member of his congregation. 
Some friends being with him, this person was requested to stay 
and dine with him. After dinner, he took occasion, in a jocu- 
lar manner, to ask each person, in his turn, how far he had 
ever known a man travel to tell an evil report of his neighbour : 
when some gave one reply, and some another ; he at last came 
to this individual, but without waiting for his self-condemning 



PHILEMON. 199 

reply, or necessarily exposing him, Dr Waugh stated, that he 
had lately met with a christian professor, apparently so zealous 
for the honour of the church, as to walk fourteen miles with no 
other object than that of making known to his minister the fail- 
ings of a brother member. He then in a warm and impres- 
sive manner enlarged on the praise of that " charity which 
covers a multitude of sins; which rejoiceth not in iniquity, but 
rejoiceth in the truth." 

iii. 9. — Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, 
and contentions, and strivings about the law ; for 
they are unprofitable and vain. 

While Melancthon was at Spires, he paid a visit to Bretten, 
to see his mother. This good woman asked him, What she 
must believe, amidst these disputes ? She repeated to him the 
prayers she was used to make, and which contained nothing that 
was superstitious. " Continue," said he, " to believe and pray 
as you have done hitherto, and never trouble yourself about 
controversies." 



PHILEMON. 

Veil 9 Being such an one as Paul the aged. 

In a letter, the late Rev. Rowland Hill remarks, — '* Old as I 
am, I am just returned from a long missionary ramble; but I 
feel I am getting old. O that I may work well to the last !" 
In all his journeys, even when he had reached a period beyond 
that usually allotted to man, he was disconcerted if he did not 
find a pulpit ready for him every evening. In one of his letters, 
fixing his days for preaching on his road to some place, he says, 
" Ever since my Master has put me into office, I have ever es- 
teemed it my duty to remember his admonition, ' As ye go, 
preach.' " His general answer to invitations to houses on his 
route was, " I shall be happy to come to you, if you can find me 
a place to preach in." 

Ver. 1 1. — Which in time past was to thee unpro- 
fitable, but now profitable to thee and to me. 

The servants of Lord were greatly impressed, and evi- 



200 HEBREWS I. 

dently reformed, under the preaching of the gospel at -*. 

His lordship being one day on the promenade, was jeered by 
some of the company upon the revolution which had taken place 
among his servants by the change of their religion. The noble 
lord replied, " As to the change of their religion, or what their 
religious sentiments are, I cannot tell ; but one thing I know, 
that since they have changed their religion, they have been 
much better servants, and shall meet with no opposition from 
me." — How happy is it when servants thus adorn the doctrine 
of God our Saviour, and by well-doing put to silence the igno- 
rance of foolish men ! 



HEBREWS. 

Chap. i. 6. — When he bringeth in the first-begotten 
into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of 
God worship him. 

It was during the reign of Theodosius the Great, in the 
fourth century, that the Arians, through the lenity of the em- 
peror, made their most vigorous attempts to undermine the 
doctrine of the divinity of Jesus Christ. The event, however, 
of his making his son Arcadius partner with himself on his 
throne, was happily overruled to his seeing the God-dishonour- 
ing character of their creed. Among the bishops who came to 
congratulate him on the occasion, was the famous and esteemed 
Ampilochus, who, it is said, had suffered much under the Arian 
persecution. He approached the emperor, and, making a very 
handsome and dutiful address, was going to take his leave. 
'* What," said Theodosius, " do you take no notice of my son? 
Do you not know that T have made him a partner with me in 
the empire?" Upon this, the good old bishop went to young 
Arcadius, then about sixteen years of age, and putting his hand 
upon his head, said, " The Lord bless thee, my son !" and im- 
mediately drew back. Even this did not satisfy the emperor. 
" What," said he, " is this all the respect you pay to a prince, 
that I have made of equal dignity with myself?" Upon this, 
the bishop arose, and looking the emperor in the face, with a 
tone of voice solemnly indignant, said, — " Sir, do you so highly 
resent my apparent neglect of your son, because I do not give 



HEBREWS II. 201 

him equal honour with yourself? Wh&t must the eternal God 
think of you, who have allowed his co-equal and co-eternal Son 
to be degraded in his proper divinity in every part of your em- 
pire ?" This was as a two-edged sword in the heart of the em- 
peror. He felt the reproof to be just and confounding, and no 
longer would seem to give the least indulgence to that creed, 
which did not secure divine glory to the " Prince of Peace." 

ii. 3. — How shall we escape, if we neglect so great 
salvation ? 

Mr Blackadder has recorded some instances of the powerful 
influence of the preaching of Mr Welsh, a cotemporary minister. 
" At one time, after having removed all impediments that might 
hinder sinners from embracing the salvation offered in the gos- 
pel, he said at the conclusion, ' I must enter my protestation 
in my Master's name against any here who will not close with 
the offer, and give their consent.' A woman in the company 
cried out, ' Hold your hand, Sir; do it not, for I give my con- 
sent.'" 

A minister of the gospel thus began an address from the pul- 
pit, to his hearers: — " My brethren, I have a very solemn 
question to propose to you this day. It is a question of the 
greatest importance ; and it is of such a nature, that neither you 
nor I can answer it. No man, all the men on earth ; nay, Sa- 
tan, with all his knowledge, cannot answer it. No saint in hea- 
ven, nor can the highest archangel ; nay, the great God him- 
self, cannot answer it. The question is this, * How shall we 
escape, if we neglect so great salvation?' " 

ii. 15. — And deliver them who, through fear of 

death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

A person who died some years ago, lived in the house of a 
pious friend, to whom he often communicated his distressing 
apprehensions. He was not so much disturbed with doubts re- 
specting his interest in Christ, as terrified with the thoughts of 
dying ; and said he thought he should need three or four per- 
sons to hold him, if he apprehended death was at hand. His 
friend proposed scriptural antidotes to this unreasonable dread ; 
and encouraged him to expect that, as his day, so should his 
strength be. After long illness, the time of his departure ap- 
proached ; and he often expressed a wish that his friend could 



202 HEBREWS III. 

always be with him. Finding himself dying, he repeatedly sent 
for his friend to pray with him. He felt uneasy, and said, " Sa- 
tan whispers that I have been a deceiver, and shall die a hypo- 
crite. '= He asked his friend to pray again with him, after which 
he cried, " The Lord is come! Praise God, praise God!" 
He then lifted up both his hands, which, from weakness, he 
could scarcely raise before, and several times repeated, " Vic- 
tory, victory, victory, through the blood of the Lamb!" and 
expired with the unfinished word on his lips. 

iii. 4. — Every house is builded by some man, but 
he that built all things is God. 

" See here," says Mr Robinson, " I hold a Bible in my 
hand, and you see the cover, the leaves, the letters, the words, 
but you do not see the writers or the printer, the letter-found- 
er, the ink-maker, the paper-maker, or the binder. You never 
did see them, you never will see them, and yet there is not one 
of you who will think of disputing or denying the being of these 
men. I go farther, I affirm that you see the very souls of these 
men, in seeing this book, and you feel yourselves obliged to 
allow that, by the contrivance, design, memory, fancy, reason, 
and so on. In the same manner, if you see a picture, you j udge 
there was a painter ; if you see a house, you judge there was a 
builder of it ; and if you see a room contrived for this purpose, 
and another for that, a door to enter, and a window to admit 
light, a chimney to hold fire, you conclude that the builder was 
a person of skill and forecast, who formed the house with a view 
to the accommodation of its inhabitants. In this manner, ex- 
amine the world, and pity the man who, when he sees the sign 
of a wheat-sheaf, hath sense enough to know that there is a 
joiner, and somewhere a painter, but who, when he sees the 
wheat-sheaf itself, is so stupid as not to say to himself, this had 
a wise and good Creator." 

iii. 15 — To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden 

not your hearts. 

A gentleman wishing to convey, together with a gentle re- 
proof, a useful lesson to his gardener, who had neglected to 
prop a valuable fruit-tree, until it was damaged by a high wind, 
observed, " You see, gardener, the danger of putting off, from 
day to day, the doing of any necessary work ; yet, in this way, 
foolish men defer their repentance from one day to another, 



HEBREWS IV. 203 

until, in some unexpected moment, the wind of death comes, 
and blows them into eternity." 

iv. 1.— Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being 
left us of entering into his rest, any of you should 
seem to come short of it. 

Mr Philip Henry said to some of his neighbours who came 
to see him on his death-bed, " O make sure work for your 
souls, my friends, by getting an interest in Christ, while you 
are in health. If I had that work to do now, what would be- 
come of me ? I bless God, I am satisfied. See to it, all of 
you, that your work be not undone when your time is done, 
lest you be undone for ever." 

iv. 3. — We which have believed do enter into rest. 

Mr Stewart, in his journal of a residence in the Sandwich 
Islands, speaking of a converted sailor, says, " R — — is one of 
the happiest of creatures. All he says is worth twice its real 
value, from the manner in which it is communicated. He last 

night related to me a conversation he had with C , a few 

days since. C came to him with a spirit greatly troubled, 

and wished to know in what manner he had obtained the light 
and liberty he appeared to enjoy ; adding, I believe the Bible 
to be true, and every word of it to be from God. I know that 
I can be saved only by the redemption of Jesus Christ. I feel 
my misery as a sinner. / believe every thing, but how am I to 
believe so as to be saved ? I want faith, and how am I to get it ? 

R told him it was just so with himself once. I did not 

know what faith was, or how to obtain it ; but I know now what 
it is, and believe I possess it. But I do not know that I can 
tell you what it is, or how to get it. I can tell you what it is 
not. It is not knocking off swearing, and drinking, and such like; 
and it is not reading the Bible, nor praying, nor being good. It 
is none of these ; for, even if they would answer for the time to 
come, there is the old score still, and how are you to get clear 
of that ? It is not any thing you have done, or can do ; it is 
only believing, and trusting to what Christ has done. It is for- 
saking your sins, and looking for their pardon, and tho salva- 
tion of your soul, because he died and shed his blood for sin ; 
and it is nothing else. A doctor of divinity might have given 

poor C a more technical and polished answer, but not one 

more simple or probably satisfactory." 



204 HEBREWS VI. 

v. 2. — Who can have compassion on the ignorant, 
and on them that are out of the way ? 

il I received a most useful hint," says Cecil, " from Dr Ba- 
con, then father of the University, when I was at college. I 
used frequently to visit him at his living", near Oxford ; he 
would frequently say to me, ' What are you doing ?' Wha< 
are your studies?' ' I am reading so and so.' ' You ar< 
quite wrong. When I was young, I could turn any piece 
Hebrew into Greek verse with ease. But when I came int< 
this parish, and had to teach ignorant people, I was wholly at a 
loss ; I had no furniture. They thought me a great man, but 
that was their ignorance ; for I knew as little as they did, of 
what it was most important for them to know. Study chief! 
what you can turn to good account in your future life.' " 



; 



v. 12. — Ye have need that one teach you agar 
which be the first principles of the oracles of God, 
and are become such as have need of milk, and not 
of strong meat. 

Mr Grimshaw once apologized for the length of his discourse, 
to this effect : — " If I were in some situations, I might not 
think it needful to speak so much ; but many of my hearers, 
who are wicked and careless, are likewise very ignorant, and 
very slow of apprehension. If they do not understand me, I can- 
not hope to do them good ; and, when I think of the uncertainty 
of life, and perhaps it may be the last opportunity afforded, and 
that it is possible I may never see them again, till I meet them 
in the great day, I know not how to be explicit enough ; I en- 
deavour to set the subject in a variety of lights ; I express the 
same thoughts in different words, and can scarcely tell how to 
leave off, lest I should have omitted something, for the want of 
which my preaching and their hearing might prove in vain ; 
and thus, though I fear I weary others, I am still unable to sa- 
tisfy myself." 

vi. 6. — They crucify to themselves the Son of God 

afresh, and put him to an open shame. 

Bridaine, a celebrated French preacher, discoursing on the 
passion of Christ, expressed himself thus: — " A man, accused 
of a crime of which he was innocent, was condemned to death 



HEBREWS VII. 205 

by the iniquity of his judges. He was led to punishment, but 
no gibbet was prepared, nor was there any executioner to per- 
form the sentence. The people, moved with compassion, hoped 
that this sufferer would escape death. But one man raised his 
voice, and said, ' I am going to prepare a gibbet, and I will be 
the executioner.' You groan with indignation ! Well, my 
brethren, in each of you I behold this cruel man. Here are no 
Jews here to-day, to crucify Jesus Christ ; but you dare to rise 
up, and say, * I will crucify him.'" These words pronounced 
by the preacher, though very young, with all the dignity of an 
apostle, and with the most powerful emotion, produced such 
effect, that nothing was heard but the sobs of the auditory. 

vi. 19- — Which hope we have as an anchor of the 

soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into 

that within the vaiL 

Mr W. Cowper, sometime minister of Stirling, and after- 
wards bishop of Galloway, thus spoke of his dissolution to his 
weeping friends : " Death is somewhat dreary, and the streams 
of that Jordan, between us and our Canaan, run furiously ; but 
they stand still when the ark comes. Let your anchor be cast 
within the vail, and fastened to the rock Jesus. Let the end 
of the threefold cord be buckled to the heart ; so shall ye go 
through." 

vii. 19 The law made nothing perfect, but the 

bringing in of a better hope did ; by the which we 
draw nigh unto God. 

A lady who was in the habit of close attendance on the 
Princess Amelia, during her last illness, described some of the 
latter intercourses which took place between the princess and 
her royal father George III. and which seldom failed to turn 
on the momentous topic of the future world, as being singu- 
larly affecting. " My dear child," said his majesty to her, on 
one of these occasions, " you have ever been a good child to 
your parents ; we have nothing wherewith to reproach you ; 
but I need not tell you, that it is not of yourself alone that you 
can be saved, and that your acceptance with God must depend 
on your faith and trust in the merits of the Redeemer." " I 
know it," replied the princess mildly, but emphatically, " and 
I could wish for no better trust." 



206 HEBREWS VIII. 

vii. 25. — He is able also to save them to the ut- 
termost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever 
liveth to make intercession for them. 

" I was one morning called from my study," said a minister 
at a naval station, "toa person who wished to see me. When 
I entered the room, his appearance reminded me of Covey, be- 
ing a sailor with a wooden leg, who, with tears in his eyes, 
said, ' Here's another Covey come to see you, sir.' I replied, 
' I am glad to see you, Covey ; sit down.' He then informed 
me that he was a Swede, had been some years in the British 
service, had lost his limb in the action of the 1st of June, un- 
der Lord Howe, and was now cook of one of his majesty's ships 
in ordinary ; it was with reluctance he came into this port, from 
some report he had heard unfavourable to the place. He had 
been for some years married to an Englishwoman, who, when 
on shore, having seen for sale a Tract, with the picture of a 
sailor in the act of having his legs cut off, was induced to pur- 
chase it, supposing that it might contain something that would 
please her husband. It was the tract of Covey the Sailor, 
which he read with uncommon interest, as he had known him, 
and had heard of him as having been a brave seaman. He had, 
previously to this, felt at times considerable compunction for 
his sins, and fear of future misery, but knew nothing of the 
Saviour through whom his sins were to be pardoned. He ob- 
served, * When I read the Tract, I there saw my own cha- 
racter. Though I thought I could fight as well as Covey, I 
was afraid I could not die so well. When I came to that part 
that none need to despair, since poor blaspheming Covey had 
found mercy, I wept, and took courage. After having read it 
over many times, I resolved I would hear the minister that 
Covey heard. 1 did so ; and here I heard of that Saviour who 
is able and willing to save my soul to the uttermost, and who I 
humbly hope and believe has saved me.' " 

viii. 6. — He is the mediator of a better covenant, 
which was established upon better promises. 

Mr Lyford, a puritan divine, a few days previous to his dis- 
solution, being desired by his friends to give them some ac- 
count of his hopes and comforts, he replied, " I will let you 
know how it is with me, and on what ground I stand. Here is 
the grave, the wrath of God, and devouring flames, the great 



HEBREWS IX. 207 

punishment of sin, on the one hand ; and here am I, a poor 
sinful creature, on the other ; but this is my comfort, the cove- 
nant of grace, established upon so many sure promises, hath 
satisfied all. The act of oblivion passed in heaven is, ' I will 
forgive their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more, 
saith the Lord.' This is the blessed privilege of all within the 
covenant, of whom I am one. For I find the Spirit which is 
promised, bestowed upon me, in the blessed effects of it upon 
my soul, as the pledge of God's eternal love. By this I know 
my interest in Christ, who is the foundation of the covenant ; 
and therefore, my sins being laid on him, shall never be charged 
on me." 

viii. 1 1 . — All shall know me, from the least to the 
greatest. 

The Diary of Mrs Savage abounds with expressions of con- 
cern for her children. At one time she writes, — " I read in 
course, in my closet, Isaiah liv. with the exposition. I was 
much affected with the 13th verse, * And all thy children shall be 
taught of the Lord.' Though it is spoken of the church's child- 
ren, I would apply it to my own children, in particular, and 
desire to act faith on it. I am caring and endeavouring that 
they may be taught and instructed in the good way. This is 
the inward desire of my soul. Now, saith God, they shall be 
taught of me, and all thy children shall, — a sweet promise, it 
much satisfies me ; Lord, set in with poor parents, who desire 
nothing in the world so much, as to see their children walk in 
the narrow way that leads to life." 

ix. 15. — He is the mediator of the New Testa- 
ment, that by means of death, for the redemption of 
transgressions, they which are called might receive 
the promise of eternal inheritance. 

Mr John Avery, a pious minister, having been driven from 
his native country 'by the persecution of Archbishop Laud, fled 
to New England. Upon his arrival, he settled for a short time 
at Newbury ; but, receiving an invitation to Marble Head, he 
determined upon a removal to that place. Having embarked 
in a small vessel, together with Mr Anthony Thacker, another 
worthy minister, there arose a most tremendous storm, by which 
the vessel struck against a rock, and was dashed to pieces. 



208 HEBREWS X. 

The whole company, consisting of twenty-three persons, got 
upon the rock, out were successively washed off and drowned, 
except Mr Thacker and his wife. Mr Thacker and Mr Avery 
hold each other by the hand a long time, resolving to die to- 
g-ether, till, by a tremendous wave, the latter was washed away, 
and drowned. The moment before this happened, he lifted up 
his eyes to heaven, saying, " We know not what the pleasure 
of God may be. I fear we have been too unmindful of former 
deliverances. Lord, I cannot challenge a promise of the pre- 
servation of my life ; but thou hast promised to deliver us from 
sin and condemnation, and to bring us safe to heaven, through 
the all-sufficient satisfaction of Jesus Christ. This, therefore, 
I do challenge of thee." He had no sooner uttered these words, 
than he was swept into the mighty deep, and no more seen. 
Mr Thacker and his wife were also washed off the rock ; but, 
after being tossed in the waves for some time, the former was 
cast on shore, where he found his wife a sharer in the deliver- 
ance. 

ix. 27, 28. — It is appointed unto men once to die, 
but after this the judgment : so Christ was once of- 
fered to bear the sins of many. 

Death and judgment can be contemplated with comfort, only 
in connexion with a believing view of the atonement of Christ: 
" Death's terror is the mountain faith removes ." 

The late Rev. Archibald Hall of London, when in Scotland, 
being on a visit to a dying Christian at Borrowstounness, after 
much serious conversation, he took hold of Mr Hall's hand, 
and said, " Now, Sir, I can with as much pleasure take hold 
of death by its cold hand. You may justly wonder at this; for 
I see and believe myself to be most unworthy ; but, at the 
same time, I see Christ to be my great propitiation, and faith 
in his blood gives me ease. I see myself all vile and polluted, 
but I view Jesus as the fountain opened, and faith in him sup- 
ports me under a sense of my vileness." 

x. 26, 27 For if we sin wilfully, after that we 

have received the knowledge of the truth, there re- 
maineth no more sacrifice for sins ; but a certain 
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indigna- 
tion, which shall devour the adversaries. 






HEBREWS X. 209 

li I was lately," observed Mr Gunn, " called to attend the 
death-be 1 of a young man at Hoxton. On my entering the 
room, I found him in the greatest horror of mind. Thinking 
perhaps it arose from that deep remorse sometimes attendant 
on the death-bed of a sinner, J began to point him to Jesus, 
the sinner's only friend, and to the glorious promises of the 
gospel ; when, with an agonizing look of despair, he replied, 

* Ah ! Sir, but I have rejected the gospel. Some years since, 
I unhappily read Paine's Age of Reason, — it suited my cor- 
rupt taste — I imbibed its principles : after this, wherever I 
went, I did all that lay in my power to hold up the Scriptures 
to contempt; by this means I led others into the fatal snare, 
and made proselytes to infidelity. Thus I rejected God, and 
now he rejects me.' I offered to pray by him, but he replied, 

* O, no — it is all in vain to pray for me.' Then, with a dis- 
mal groan, he cried out, * Paine's Age of Reason has ruined 
my soul !' and instantly expired." 

x. 35 — Cast not away therefore your confidence, 
which hath great recompense of reward. 

An eminent minister was much troubled with doubts and 
fears concerning his own salvation, and many of his hearers who 
laboured under similar distress, coming daily to him for direc- 
tion, increased the burden. One day, after much wrestling 
with God in prayer for deliverance, it was impressed on his 
mind to go to such a place, and he would find a person that 
would be of spiritual use to him. Accordingly, on passing 
through his own church-yard, he met a very aged man, to whom 
the minister observed, " It is a good day." The old man an- 
swered, " I never saw a bad day in my life-time." At hearing 
this, the minister, fetching a deep sigh, asked him, " How it 
was that he, who appeared to be so old a a man, had never seen 
a bad day ?" To which the other replied, " My mind is so 
sunk into the will of God, that, knowing his unerring wisdom 
and goodness, whatever is his will is my will." " And what," 
said the minister, " if God was to cast you into hell, would 
you be resigned to his will in that particular ?" To which it 
was answered, " God hath given me two long arms, — the arm 
of faith and the arm of Jiope, and was the Lord even to cast me 
into hell, I would not let go my hold of him." This simple 
word was so blessed to the afflicted minister, that from thence- 
forward he could rejoice in the Lord as his God. 



210 HEBREWS XII 

xi. 13.- — These all died in faith. 

A clergyman having occasion to wait on the late Princess 
Charlotte, was thus addressed by her : — " Sir, I understand you 
are a clergyman." " Yes, Madam."' " Of the Church of En- 
land ?" " Yes." " Permit me to ask your opinion, Sir, What 
is it that can make a death-bed easy ?" Mr W. was startled at 
so serious a question from a young and blooming female of so 
high rank, and modestly expressed his surprise that she should 
consult him, when she had access to many much more capable 
of answering the inquiry. She replied, that she had proposed 
it to many, and wished to collect various opinions on this im- 
portant subject. Mr W. then felt it his duty to be explicit, and 
affectionately recommended to her the study of the Scriptures, 
which, as he stated, uniformly represent faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, as the only means to make a death-bed easy. " Ah !" 
said she, bursting into tears, " that is what my grandfather 
often told me ; but then he used to add, that besides reading 
the Bible, I must pray for the Holy Spirit to understand its 
meaning? ' 

xi. 21 — By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, 
blessed both the sons of Joseph. 

A few days previous to his death, the late Rev. Dr Belfrage 
of Falkirk, hearing his infant son's voice in an adjoining room, 
desired that he should be brought to him. When the child was 
lifted into the bed, the dying lather placed his hands upon his 
head, and said, in the language of Jacob, " The God before 
whom my fathers did walk, the God who fed me all my life long 
to this day, the angel who redeemed me from all evil, bless the 
lad." When the boy was removed, he added, " Remember 
and tell John Henry of this ; tell him of these prayers, and how 
earnest I was that he might become early acquainted with his 
father's God." 

xii. 2. — Looking unto Jesus, the author and 
finisher of our faith. 

Mr Edward Riddell, an aged Christian in Hull, remarked, a 
few days before his death, to one present, " Some may sup- 
pose, that a person at my time of life, and after so long making 
a profession of religion, has nothing to do but to die and go to 
heaven ; but I find that I have as much need to go to God, 



HEBREWS XIII. 211 

through Christ, as a sinner at the last hour as at the beginning. 
The blood of Christ, the death of Christ, his victory and ful- 
ness, are my only ground of faith, hope, and confidence ; there 
is the same need of him to be the Finisher of my faith, as there 
was to be the Author of it." 

xii. 9. — We have had fathers of our flesh which 
corrected us, and we gave them reverence : shall we 
not much rather be in subjection to the Father of 
spirits, and live ? 

The son of a minister lately deceased, had by some means 
excited the displeasure of his father. His father thought it 
right to be reserved for an hour or two, and when asked a 
question about the business of the day, he was very short in his 
answer to his son. The time was nearly arrived when the 
youth was to repeat his lessons. He came into his father's 
study, and said, " Papa, I cannot learn my lesson unless you 
are reconciled ; I am sorry I have offended you, I hope you 
will forgive me, I think I shall never offend you again.'' His 
father replied, " All I wish is to make you sensible of your 
fault ; when you acknowledge it, you know all is easily recon- 
ciled with me." " Then, papa," said he, " give the token of 
reconciliation, and seal it with a kiss." The hand was given, 
and the seal most heartily exchanged on each side. " Now," 
exclaimed the dear boy, " I will learn Latin and Greek with 
any body;" and fled to his little study. " Stop, stop," cried 
his father, " have you not a heavenly Father? If what you 
have done be evil, He is displeased, and you must apply to 
Him for forgiveness." With tears starting in his eyes, he said, 
" Papa, / went to him first ; I knew except he was reconciled, 
I could do nothing ;" and with tears, he said, " I hope He has 
forgiven me, and now I am happy." His father never had oc- 
casion to look at him with a shade of disapprobation from that 
time till his death. 

xiii. 5. — Be content with such things as ye have. 

" We have heard," said a gentleman to Thomas Mann, a 
pious waterman on the Thames, " that teaching the poor to 
read has a tendency to make them discontented with the sta- 
tion in which Providence has placed them. Do you think 
so ?" " No, Sir, quite the contrary. All that I have read in 



212 JAMES I. 

the Bible teaches me to be content with the dispensations of 
Providence, to be industrious and careful. A Christian can- 
not be an idle or an ungrateful man." 

xiii. 17. — They watch for your souls, as they that 
must give an account. 

" I visit and examine every district of my large congrega- 
tion," says Dr Henry Belfrage, in a letter, " every year. Sly 
father did so; and though the increasing population of the 
country has enlarged the congregation considerably, I follow 
his example. Though urged by my friends to lessen my la- 
bour, I still go on ; and my vigorous health fits me for a toil 
that would be oppressive to others. Old Mr Shirra of Kirk- 
caldy, of whom you must have heard, used sometimes to say to 
his brethren, when urging them to hard service, ' It will not 
look the worse at the day of judgment.' " 



JAMES. 

Chap. i. 14, 15. — Every man is tempted, when he 
is drawn away of his own last, and enticed. Then, 
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ; and 
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

Many years since, two men were executed at Carlisle for 
burglary. A minister then living in that city, was moved by 
compassion for the men, and applied to the judge for a respite; 
he was informed, that on account of the cruelty attending the 
robbery, capital punishment must be inflicted. His lordship 
recommended their humane intercessor to use the only means 
which could now be available to the culprits, in preparing 
them by christian instruction for the awful change which 
awaited them. In the course of his benevolent visits to this 
gloomy abode, he questioned the prisoners how they had been 
led from the path of honesty to commit such crimes. In an- 
swer to these inquiries, one of the unhappy men declared that 
his first step to ruin was, takiny a half-penny out of his mother s 
pocket while she was asleep. From this sin he was led, by 



JAMES II. 213 

small but fatal degrees, to the crimes for which he was so soon 
to suffer a shameful death. 

i. 27 — Pure religion, and undefiled, before God 
and the Father, is this ; To visit the fatherless and 
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself un- 
spotted from the world. 

A little girl, who used to read the Bible to a poor sick 
woman, who could not read herself, was asked by a gentleman 
in the Sabbath School at which she attended, why she visited 
this woman ? " Because, Sir," said she, " I find it said in 
the Bible, * Pure religion, and undefiled, before God and the 
Father, is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflic- 
tion.' " 

ii. 11. — If thou kill, thou art become a transgres- 
sor of the law. 

When Dr Donne took possession of his first living, he took 
a walk into the church-yard, where the sexton was digging a 
grave, and throwing up a skull. The doctor took it up, and 
found a rusty headless nail sticking in the temple, which he 
drew out secretly, and wrapt it up in the corner of his hand- 
kerchief. He then demanded of the grave-digger whether he 
knew whose skull that was. He said it was a man's who kept 
a brandy shop, an honest drunken fellow, who one night hav- 
ing taken two quarts, was found dead in his bed next morning. 
u Had he a wife?" " Yes." " What character does she 
bear?" " A very good one; only the neighbours reflect on 
her, because she married the day after her husband was 
buried." This was enough for the doctor, who, under the 
pretence of visiting his parishioners, called on her : he asked 
her several questions, and among others, what sickness her 
husband died of. She gave him the same account he had re- 
ceived : upon this he suddenly opened the handkerchief, and 
cried in an authoritative voice, " Woman, do you know this 
nail?" She was struck with horror at the unexpected de- 
mand, instantly owned the fact, was tried, and executed. 

ii. 15, 16 — If a brother or sister be naked, and 



214 JAMES Til. 

destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, 
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, &c. 

" Near Fua, on my way to Cairo," says Mr Lieder, mis- 
sionary in Egypt, " when we sailed near the shore, eight or 
ten naked boys ran along after us, begging alms ; and before I 
could throw them some bread, my Reis (captain of the vessel) 
repeatedly called to them, ' May God give you ; may God help 
you;' a most common custom in Egypt, when a man will give 
nothing. I never was so much struck with this custom as now, 
when it brought to my recollection the practices which St 
James so strikingly censures." 

iii. 5. — The tongue is a little member, and boasteth 
great things. 

Mr Carter, an eminent minister, being invited to dine, to- 
gether with several other ministers, at the house of a respect- 
able magistrate at Ipswich, a very vain person who sat at table, 
boasted that he would dispute with any gentleman present, 
upon any question that should be proposed, either in divinity 
or philosophy. A profound silence ensued, till Mr Carter ad- 
dressed him in these words : — " I will go no further than my 
trencher to puzzle you. Here is a sole ; now tell me the rea- 
son why this fish, which hath always lived in salt water, should 
come out fresh ?" As the bold challenger did not so much as 
attempt any answer, the scorn and laughter of the company 
were presently turned on him. 

iii. 17. — The wisdom that is from above is first 
pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreat- 
ed, full of mercy and good fruits. 

" There was," says the biographer of the late Rev John 
Brown of Whitburn, " in his general deportment, a happy 
union of familiarity and dignity. He was easily accessible to 
the youngest and the poorest ; none were afraid to speak to 
him, but seldom did any presume to take undue liberties with 
him. While ther^ was a softness and sweetness in his manner 
which invited confidence and affection, there was an indescrib- 
able something which commanded reverence, and prevented 
or repressed every approach to improper freedoms. The peo- 



JAMES V. 215 

pie of Whitburn were accustomed to observe, that whenever 
Mr Brown made his appearance in the town on the Sabbath 
evening (which was often the case, as he was in the frequent 
habit of visiting a Sabbath school there), both old and young, 
who happened at the time to be in the street, immediately, from 
an instinctive feeling of veneration for his character, retired 
into their houses." 

iv. 8. — Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh 
to you. 

" I would not," says Mrs Berry in her Diary, " be hired out 
of my closet for a thousand worlds. I never enjoy such hours 
of pleasure, and such free and entire communion with God, as 
I have here; and I wonder that any can live prayerless, and 
deprive themselves of the greatest privilege allowed to them." 

iv. 11. — Speak not evil one of another, brethren. 

Dr Waugh being in company with a number of ministers, 
the bad conduct of a brother in the ministry became the sub- 
ject of conversation, and every gentleman in the room joined 
warmly in condemning him. Dr Waugh sat for a long time 
silent. At last he walked up to his companions, and said, 
" My dear friends, surely we are not acting in accordance with 
our profession. The person you speak of is one of ourselves, 
and we ought not to blow the coal. But do you know that he 
is as bad a man as he is represented ? and if he is, will railing 
against him do him any good ? It is cowardly to speak ill of 
a man behind his back ; and I doubt if any of us would have 
sufficient courage, if our poor friend were to appear among us, 
to sit down and kindly tell him of his faults. If there be one 
here who feels himself quite pure, and free from error, let him 
throw the first stone ; but if not, let us be silent, and I confess 
that I feel that I must not say one word." He resumed his 
seat, and the company looked at each other, struck silent by 
this rebuke from one so good and mild. 

v. 12. — Above all things, my brethren, swear not, 
neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by 
any other oath. 

The late excellent Mr J — of G , was remarkable for the 

cheerfulness as well as the fervour of his piety. When he ad- 






216 I PETER I. 

ministered a reproof, it was frequently accompanied with a kind 
of pleasantry, which fixed the attention, and disarmed the re- 
sentment of the person whom he addressed. Being once in 
company when a gentleman occasionally embellished his dis- 
courses with the names of devil, deuce, &c. and at last also 
took the name of God in vain — " Stop, Sir/' said the old 
man ; " I said nothing while you only used freedoms with the 
name of your own master, but I insist you shall use no free- I 
doms with the name of mine." 

v. 15. — The prayer of faith shall save the sick. 

A clergyman, some time since, concluding a sermon to 
youth, took occasion to press upon parents the duty of paren- 
tal faith, and illustrated its power in the following manner : — 
" About two-and- twenty years ago, a little circle were met 
around the apparently dying couch of a male infant ; the man 
of God who led their devotions, seemed to forget the sickness 
of the child in his prayer for his future usefulness. He prayed 
for the child who had been consecrated to God at its birth, as 
a man, a Christian, and a minister of the word. The parents 
laid hold of the horns of the altar, and prayed with him. The 
child recovered, grew towards manhood, ran far in the ways of 
folly and sin. One after another of that little circle ascended 
to heaven ; but two of them at least, and one of them the mo- 
ther, lived to hear him proclaim the everlasting gospel. It is, 5 ' 
said the preacher, " no fiction, that child, that prodigal youth, 
that preacher, is he who now addresses you" 



I PETER. 

Chap. i. 8. — Whom having not seen, ye love. 

John Lambert suffered in the year 1538. No man was used 
at the stake with more cruelty than this holy martyr. They 
burnt him with a slow fire by inches ; for if it kindled higher 
and stronger than they chose, they removed it away. When 
his legs were burnt off, and his thighs were mere stumps in the 
fire, they pitched his poor body upon pikes, and lacerated his 
broiling flesh with their halberts. But God was with him in 
the midst of the flame, and supported him in all the anguish of 



I PETER II. 217 

nature. Just before he expired, he lifted up such hands as he 
had all flaming with fire, and cried out to the people with his 
dying voice, " None but Christ ! None but Christ !" He was 

• at last beat down into the fire, and expired. 

[fl 

i. 13. — Be sober, and hope to the end, for the 

grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation 

of Jesus Christ. 

" We read," says Townson, " that, in certain climates of 
the world, the gales that spring from the land carry a refresh- 
ing smell out to sea, and assure the watchful pilot that he is 
approaching to a desirable and fruitful coast, when as yet he 
cannot discern it with his eyes. And, to take up once more 
' the comparison of life to a voyage, in like manner it fares with 
those who have steadily and religiously pursued the course 
which heaven pointed out to them. We shall sometimes find, 
by their conversation towards the end of their days, that they 
are filled with peace, and hope, and joy, which, like those re- 
freshing gales and reviving odours to the seamen, are breathed 
forth from Paradise upon their souls, and give them to under- 
stand with certainty that God is bringing them unto their de- 
sired haven." 

The merchant, who towards spicy reg r ons sails, 
Smells their perfume far off in adverse gales ; 
With blasts which thus against the faithful blow, 
Fresh oderous breathings of God's goodness flow. 

ii. 12. — Having your conversation honest among 
! the Gentiles ; that, whereas they speak against you 
as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which 
they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 

An under gardener, with whom his Majesty George III. was 
accustomed familiarly to converse, was missed one day by the 
king, who inquired of the head gardener where he was. 
" Please your Majesty," said the gardener, " he is very trou- 
blesome with his religion, and is always talking about it." " Is 
he dishonest?" said the king, " does he neglect his work?" 
" No, your Majesty, he is very honest, I have nothing to say 
against him for that ?" " Then send for him again," said the 
monarch, " why should he be turned off? Call me defender 
of the faith ! Defender of the faith ? and turn away a 



218 I PETER III. 

man for his religion ?" The king had learned from this good 
man, that the place of worship where he attended was supported 
by voluntary contributions, and was in the habit of giving him 
a guinea for the quarterly collection. 

ii. 18 — Servants, be subject to your masters with 
all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also 
to the froward. 

Mr Collins, an infidel writer, used occasionally to visit Lord 
Barrington, who, in conversation, once asked him, " how it 
was, that though he seemed to have very little religion himself, 
he yet took so much care that his servants should attend regularly 
at church." His reply was, " that he did it to prevent their 
robbing or murdering him." Surely religion is a good thing, 
its enemies themselves being judges. Let christian servants 
study, by a faithful discharge of the duties of their relation, to 
adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 

iii. 1. — Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your 
own husbands ; that if any obey not the word, they 
also may without the word be won by the conver- 
sation of the wives. 

A woman who had derived spiritual benefit from the dis- 
ccurses of Mr Robinson of Leicester, was often threatened by 
her wicked husband for going to St Mary's church, in which 
Mr R. officiated. His feelings were at length wrought up to 
such a pitch that he declared with an awful oath, that if ever 
she went to St Mary's again, be would cut off her legs. Hav- 
ing sought direction in prayer, she was strengthened to go to 
the place where oft she had b^en made joyful in the Lord. On 
her return from church, she found her husband waiting her ar- 
rival, and as soon as she had shut the door, he said in an angry 
tone, " Where have you been?" She replied, " At St Mary's." 
He instantly struck her a violent blow on the face, and she fell 
to the ground ; but rising from the floor, she turned the other 
side of her face, and in a mild and affectionate manner said, 
" My dear, if you serve this side the same, I hope I shall bear 
it with patience." Struck with this meek answer, for she had 
been a very passionate woman, he said, " Where did you learn 
that?" She replied, in a gentle manner, " At St Mary's 






T PETER IV. 219 

church, my dear." " Well," said he, " if that is what you 
learn at St Mary's, you may go as oft as you like, I will never 
hinder you again." This good woman enjoyed her privileges 
undisturbed, and also had the pleasure, a short time afterwards, 
of having her husband to accompany her. 

iii. 10. — He that will love life, and see good days, 
let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that 
they speak no guile. 

When Henry III. of France inquired of those about him, 
what it was that the Duke of Guise did to charm and allure 
every ones heart ; the reply was, " Sire, the Duke of Guise 
does good to all the world without exception, either directly 
by himself, or indirectly by his recommendation. He is civil, 
courteous, liberal, has always some good to say of every body, 
but never speaks ill of any ; and this is the reason he reigns in 
men's hearts as absolutely as your Majesty does in your king- 
dom." 

iv. 4 They think it strange, that ye run not with 

them to the same excess of riot. 

A gentleman, on entering a stage coach, rubbing his head 
with a yawn, said, " My head aches dreadfully, I was very 
drunk last night." A person affecting surprise, replied, 
" Drunk! Sir. What! do you get drunk?" " Yes," said 
he, " and so does every one at times, I believe. I have no 
doubt but you do." " No, Sir," he replied, " I do not." 
" What! never?" " No, never; and amongst other reasons 
I have for it, one is, I never find, being sober, that I have too 
much sense, and 1 am loath to lose what little I have." 

iv. 16 If any man suffer as a Christian, let him 

not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this 
behalf. 

As Mr Jeremiah Whittaker was riding with one of his inti- 
mate friends past Tyburn (which he had not seen, or not ob- 
served before), he asked what that was ; and being answered 
that it was Tyburn, where so many malefactors had been exe- 
cuted, he stopped his horse, and with much feeling expressed 



220 II PETER I. 

himself thus : ' i Oh ! what a shame is it that so many thou- 
sands should die for the satisfaction of their lusts, and so few- 
be found willing to lay down their lives for Christ? Why 
should not we, in a good cause, and upon a good call, be ready 
to die for Jesus Christ ? It would be an everlasting honour ; 
and it is a thousand times better to die for Christ, — to be hang- 
ed, or to be burnt for Christ, — than to die in our beds !" 

v. 5. — Be clothed with humility; for God resist- 
eth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 

Augustine being asked, Which is the first step to heaven ? 
he replied, " Humility." And which is the second step ? said 
the inquirer ; to which the man of God answered, " Humility." 
And which is the third step to heaven ? He again replied, 
" Humility." It is one of those modest and retired graces, 
which best suits a state of dependance and obligation. 

v. 7 — Casting all your care upon him, for he 
careth for you. 

Mr Thomas Perkins, a sufferer for conscience sake, was often 
in great straits. At one time, a niece of his, whom he had 
brought up, going, after her marriage, to visit him, in the 
course of free conversation with her, he said to her, " Child, 
how much do you think I have to keep my family ? But poor 
threepence." At which she appearing affected, he, with a great 
deal of cheerfulness, cried out, " Fear not, God will provide ;" 
and in a little time, a gentleman's servant knocked at the door, 
who brought him a haunch of venison as a present, together 
with some wheat and malt. Upon which he took his niece by 
the hand, saying, " Do you see, child, here is venison, which 
is the noblest flesh, and the finest of the wheat for bread, and 
good malt for drink. Did not I tell you God would provide 
for us ?" Thus they who trust in Providence shall not be for- 
saken. 






II PETER. 
Chap. i. 11 — For so an entrance shall be minis- 



II PETER II. 221 

tered unto you abundantly into the everlasting king- 
dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

When the Rev. Andrew Fuller was visiting Mr SutclifF, a 
pious minister, on his death-bed, he said, on taking leave, " I 
wish you, my dear brother, an abundant entrance into the 
everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ !" At this Mr 
S. hesitated, not as doubting his entrance into the kingdom, 
but as questioning whether the term abundant were applicable 
to him. " That," said he, " is more than I expect. I think 
I understand the connexion and import of those words, — ' Add 
to your faith virtue — give diligence to make your calling and 
election sure — for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you 
abundantly.' I think the idea is that of a ship coming into 
harbour, with a fair gale, and a full tide. If I may but reach 
the heavenly shore, though it be on a board or broken piece 
of a ship, I shall be satisfied." 

i. 16 — We have not followed cunningly devised 
fables, when we made known unto you the power 
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye- 
witnesses of his majesty. 

Athenagoras, a famous Athenian philosopher in the second 
century, not only doubted the truth of the Christian religion, 
but was determined to write against it. However, upon an 
intimate inquiry into the facts on which it was supported, in 
the course of his collecting materials for his intended publica- 
tion, he was convinced by the blaze of its evidence, and turn- 
ed his designed invective into an elaborate apology, which is 
still in existence. 

ii. 12. — These speak evil of the things that they 
understand not. 

A short time since, an aged clergyman was travelling in a 
stage coach, and finding himself in the company of two or three 
young men, who were rather inclined to amuse 1 ire and one 
another by frivolous conversation, he endeavoured to compose 
himself to sleep. He was shortly afterwards aroused by one of 
his companions, who wished for his decision on the point on 
which they were disputing. One of them Lad said, " that ho 



222 II PETER II. 

would rather believe the Koran than the Bible ;" and it was 
submitted to the clergyman to say, to which of these books he 
thought the greater credit due. He complained of having been 
awakened from his sleep to settle their disputes, but, however, 
said, he was happy to be able to receivejome information re- 
specting the Koran, and accordingly inquired of the person 
who said he would rather believe the Koran than the Bible," 
what sort of book it was, whether it was divided into chapters 
and verses, like our Bible, &c. The young man could not in- 
form him ; and the minister, suspecting that he was ignorant of 
the book, inquired a little farther, and found that he had never 
seen the Koran, and had never read the Bible. " Now," said 
he, u gentlemen, is it fair, that I should be awaked from my 
sleep, to decide a question thus raised by a man who knows 
nothing of either of the books of which he speaks ? Surely it 
is not too much to ask men to read what they condemn ; and 
if you will all take my advice, you will immediately apply your- 
selves to the prayerful study of the Word of God, which is able 
to make you wise unto salvation. You will then not have 
occasion to inquire whether the Koran or any other work is 
equally entitled to your belief, but you will know, and be as- 
sured, that it is indeed the word and truth of God." 

ii. 2L — It had been better for them not to have 
known the way of righteousness, than, after they 
have known it, to turn from the holy commandment 
delivered unto them. 

A society of infidels were in the practice of meeting toge- 
ther on Sabbath mornings, to ridicule religion, and to encou- 
rage each other in all manner of wickedness. At length they 
proceeded so far, as to meet, by previous agreement, to burn 
their Bibles ! They had lately initiated a young man into their 
awful mysteries, who had been brought up under great religious 
advantages, and seemed to promise well ; but on that occasion, 
he proceeded the length of his companions, threw his Bible into 
the flames, and promised with them, never to go into a place 
of religious worship again. He was soon afterwards taken ill. 
He was visited by a serious man, who found him in the agonies 
of a distressed mind. He spoke to him of his past ways. The 
poor creature said, " It all did well enough while in health, 
and while I could keep off the thoughts of death ;" but when 
the Redeemer was mentioned to him, he hastily exclaimed, 



i john i. 223 

" What's the use of talking to me about mercy 9 " When 
urged to look to Christ, he said, " I tell you it's of no use 
now; 'tis too late, 'tis too late. Once I could pray, but now 
I can't." He frequently repeated, " I cannot pray; I will 
not pray." He shortly afterwards expired, uttering the most 
dreadful imprecations against some of his companions in ini- 
quity who came to see him, and now and then saying, " JMy 
Bible! Oh, the Bible!" 

in* 11. — Seeing, then, that all these things shall 

be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be 

in all holy conversation and godliness ! 

Mr Rogers, a puritan divine, was styled the Enoch of his 
day. Bishop Kennet said of him, that England hardly ever 
brought forth a man who walked more closely with God. He 
was always remarkable for gravity and seriousness in company. 
Being once addressed by a gentleman of rank, — " Mr Rogers, 
I like you and your company well enough, but you are too 
precise /" " Oh, Sir," replied Mr R. " I serve a. precise God!" 

iii. 18. — Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

When three of the students who had been attending the 
Divinity Hall at Selkirk, called on the professor, Dr Lawson, 
before going home, he said, " You do not return to your place 
as Joshua sent away the children of Reuben and the children 
of Gad, with much riches of silver and gold, but I hope you 
go away with your minds stored with divine truth, and your 
hearts with holy affections, a treasure far better." 



I JOHN. 
Chai\ i. 3. — Truly our fellowship is with the 
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 

The Rev. James Owen, a pious minister in Shrewsbury, 
being asked, when on his death-bed, whether he would have 
some of his friends sent for to keep him company, replied, 
" My fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus 
Christ ; and he that is not satisfied with that company, doth 
not deserve it." 



224 i John ii. 

i. 7. — The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth 
us from all sin. 

Mr Williams, having visited an old blind warrior in Kaiatea, 
who had been converted to Christianity, intimated, that he 
thought his sickness would terminate in death, and wished the 
old man to tell him what he thought of himself in the sight of 
God, and what was the foundation of his hope. " Oh," he 
replied, " I have been in great trouble this morning, but I am 
happy now. I saw an immense mountain with precipitous sides, 
up which I endeavoured to climb, but when I had attained a 
considerable height, I lost my hold, and fell to the bottom. 
Exhausted with perplexity and fatigue, I went to a distance, 
and sat down to weep, and while weeping, 1 saw a drop of 
blood fall upon that mountain, and in a moment it was dis- 
solved." Wishing to obtain his own ideas of what had been 
presented to his imagination, Mr W. said, " This was certainly 
a strange sight ; what construction do you put upon it ?" 
After expressing his surprise that Mr W. should be at a loss 
for the interpretation, he exclaimed, " That mountain was my 
sins, and the drop which fell upon it, was one drop of the pre- 
cious blood of Jesus, by which the mountain of my guilt must 
be melted away." He died soon after, exclaiming, " death, 
where is thy sting ?" 

ii. 6. — He that saith he abideth in him, ought 

himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 

Scipio Africanus had a son, who had nothing of the father 
but the name, — a coward, — a dissolute, sorry rake, — the son of 
one of the greatest generals in the world ! This son wore a 
ring upon his finger, wherein was his father's picture. His 
life and character were so opposite to those of his father, and 
so unworthy, that, by an act of the senate, he was commanded 
to forbear wearing that ring. They judged it unfit that he 
should have the honour to wear the picture of his father, who 
would not himself bear the resemblance of his father's excel- 
lency. The divine command is, " Let every one that nameth 
the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 

ii. 23. — Whosoever denieth the Son, the same 
hath not the Father : but he that acknowledged the 
Son, hath the Father also. 



i john iv. 225 

Dr Miller, Professor of Theology in Princeton College, 
North America, in a note prefixed to an ordination sermon, 
relates part of a conversation that he had with Dr Priestley, 
two or three years before his death. " The conversation," 
says he, " was a free and amicable one, on some fundamental 
doctrines of religion. In reply to a direct avowal on the part 
of the author (Dr Miller), that he was a Trinitarian and a 
Calvinist, Dr Priestley said, ' I do not wonder that you Cal- 
vinists entertain and express a strongly unfavourable opinion 
of us Unitarians. The truth is, there neither can nor ought 
to be any compromise between us. If you are right, we are 
not Christians at all; and if we are right, you are gross idola- 
ters ! ' " 

iii. 1. — Behold what manner of love the Father 

hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the 

sons of God ! 

When the Danish missionaries in India appointed some of 
their Indian converts to translate a catechism, in which it was 
mentioned as the privilege of Christians to become the sons of 
God, one of the translators, startled at so bold a saying as he 
thought it, said, " It is too much ; let me rather render it, 
They shall be permitted to kiss his feet." 

iii. 18 My little children, let us not love in word, 

neither in tongue, but in deed, and in truth. 

A respectable merchant of London, having been embarrass- 
ed in his circumstances, and his misfortunes having been one 
day the subject of conversation in the Royal Exchange, seve- 
ral persons expressed great sorrow ; when a foreigner who was 
present, said, " I feel live hundred pounds for him, what do you 
feel?" 

iv. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro- 
pitiation for our sins. 

The following lines, composed by a lunatic, were found 
written on the wall of his cell after his death : — 

11 Could we with ink the ocean fill, 

And were the skies of parchment made, 
Were every stalk on earth a quill, 
And every man a scribe by trade ; 






226 i john v. 

To vrri'e the love of God above, 

Would drain the ocean dry; 
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, 

Tho* stretch'd from sky to sky." 

iv. 21 — This commandment have we from him, 
That he who loveth God, love his brother also. 

" I was conversing with a Brahmin one day," says the Rev. 
H. Townly, " respecting the relative morals of Hindoos and 
Christians, when he said, 4 Our religion is superior to yours. 
See what excellent fruits our religion produces ; see what 
saints we have amongst us Hindoos. Such a man was actuated 
by the principles of Hindooism ; he left wife, and children, and 
family, and extensive property ; he left every thing, and spent 
his life in a wood. Can you produce such a saint as that ?' I 
replied, * That we should call him a very great sinner.' * Upon 
what principle ?' said he. I answered, God has given us two 
commandments, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all 
thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself; and your Hindoo 
saint, who went to live in a wood, as long as he lived there, 
was violating the second great commandment; for, forsaking 
his neighbours, and kindred, and friends, he could not render 
them any assistance ; he had no longer the opportunity of ad- 
ministering food to the hungry, and relieving the miserable; 
and can a man who is living a life of continued disobedience to 
one of God's commandments, be deemed a saint ?' " 

v. 7 — There are three that bear record in heaven, 
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and 
these three are one. 

A lady who piqued herself in her skill in ridiculing the sen- 
timents of the Trinitarians, meeting a poor but eminently pious 
man, with whom she had formerly been unusually affable, thus 

accosted him, " Friend O , you worship three gods, do 

you not ?" " Certainly not, Madam,"was the reply. " Nay," 
retorted the lady, with a sneer, k ' but you profess to have 
three, Father, Son, and Spirit ; so 1 suppose you pray a little 
to the Father, a little to the Son, and a little to the Holy 
Ghost." The good man, shocked with such profane flippancy, 
replied, " I wish, Madam, to :^ray always as did the apostie 
Paul — ' The grace of our Lure Jesus Christ, and the l ove of 



ii john. 227 

God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all. 
Amen.'" This solemn answer, delivered with all the pathos 
a pious heart could inspire, ended at once the cavils of the lady. 

v. 14 — This is the confidence that we have in 
him/that, if we ask any thing according to his will, 
he heareth us. 

Lord Bolingbroke once asked Lady Huntingdon, how she 
reconciled prayer to God for particular blessings, with absolute 
resignation to the divine will. " Very easy," answered her 
ladyship ; " just as if I were to offer a petition to a monarch, 
of whose kindness and wisdom I have the highest opinion. In 
such a case, my language would be, I wish you to bestow on 
me such and such a favour; but your majesty knows better 
than I how far it would be agreeable to you, or right in itself, 
to grant my desire. I therefore content myself with humbly 
presenting my petition, and leave the event of it entirely to 
you." 



II JOHN. 

Ver. 4. — I rejoiced greatly that I found thy child- 
ren walking in truth. 

Lady Stormont, mother of the late Lord Chief Justice Mans- 
field, on being complimented by another lady, that " she had 
the three finest sons in Scotland to be proud of," made answer, 
M No, Madam, I have much to be thankful for, but nothing to 
be proud of." 

ver. 8 But that we receive a full reward. 

A military gentleman, a stated hearer of the late Rev. John 
Martin of Forres, who had been long in a weakly state, and 
whom Mr M. frequently visited in his affliction, remarked to 
his visitor one day, " Why, Mr Martin, if I had power over 
the pension list, I would actually have you put upon half-pay, 
for your long and faithful services." Mr M. replied, " Ah ! 
my friend, your master may put you off in your old age with 
half-pay, but my master will not serve me so meanly. He will 
gi\e me full pay. Through grace I expect a full reward ! ' 



228 jude. 

ver. 4. — I have no greater joy than to hear that 
my children walk in truth. 

Dr "Witherspoon, president of New Jersey College in Ame- 
rica, educated five hundred and twenty-three young men, one 
hundred and fifteen of whom were afterwards ministers of the 
gospel. He had the satisfaction to see many of his former 
pupils filling the first offices of trust under the government; 
and on returning one day from the General Assembly of the 
Presbyterian church, then sitting in Philadelphia, he remark- 
ed to a particular friend, " I cannot, my dear Sir, express the 
satisfaction I feel, when I observe that a majority of our Ge- 
neral Assembly were once my own pupils." 

ver, 6. — If thou bring them forward on their jour- 
ney after a godly sort, thou shalt do well. 

In 1819, two missionaries, one of them with his wife and 
child, landed on the island of St Helena. Soon after one of 
them had reached the inn, the excellent chaplain, the Rev. Mr 
A ernon, called, and. with peculiar kindness, offered to do every 
thing for them to make their visit pleasant and beneficial. Seve- 
ral officers also visited them, who were men evidently devoted 
to God. They spent four days on this island, and found it par- 
ticularly refreshing to their enfeebled bodies, and wearied 
minds. On their departure, Mr Solomon, the innkeeper, said 
to them, u Gentlemen, you have nothing to pay." Their ex- 
penses, which were not less than twenty guineas, had been de- 
frayed by the chaplain and officers, who had done this to show 
their esteem for christian missionaries, though of different de- 
nominations from themselves. Well might the missionary who 
related the fact add, " Though it is nearly eleven years ago, 
I feel my heart heave with gratitude at the recollection of it. 
Oh ! how refreshing it is to see true christian principles rising 
above all little selfish party feeling, and reiterating the aposto- 
lic benediction, ' Grace be with all them that love our Lord 
Jesus Christ in sincerity."' 



JUDE. 
Ver. 4. — Ungodly men, turning the grace of our 



jude. 229 

God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord 
God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 

A clergyman was preaching in a town of America which 
was much infected with the Universalist heresy, that all men, 
whatever may be their character, shall ultimately be saved. A 
preacher of this doctrine, who was present, with a view to 
" withstand the truth," became greatly enraged in the pro- 
gress of his discourse. It was no sooner closed, than he began 
to challenge the preacher to a defence of his doctrines. As it 
was rather late, the clergyman who had been preaching declined 
a formal debate, but proposed that each should ask the other 
three questions, to which a direct answer should be returned. 
This being agreed to, the Universalist began. He put his 
questions, which were promptly answered. It then came to 
the clergyman's turn. His first question was, " Do you pray 
in your family ?" Thunderstruck and dismayed, the preacher 
of smooth things knew not what to say. At length he asked, 
" Why ; what has that to do with the truth of my doctrine?' ' 
" Much," was the reply : " By their fruits ye shall know 
them." At last, he frankly confessed that he did not. Then 
for the second question : " When you get somewhat displeased, 
do you not sometimes make use of profane language ?" This 
was carrying the war into the innermost temple of his infidel 
abominations. There was no door of escape. Answer he must. 
It was of no use to deny it. He confessed he was profane. 
" I will go no farther." said the pious clergyman, " I am sa- 
tisfied;" and, turning to the congregation, added, " I presume 
you are also. You dare not trust your welfare to a prayerless 
and profane guide." Every one saw and felt the force of this 
practical argument. A dozen lectures on the subject would 
not have done half so much good. 

ver. 10. — These speak evil of those things which 
they know not. 

When the celebrated Dr Edmund Halley was talking infide- 
lity before Sir Isaac Newton, he addressed him in these words; — 
" I am always glad to hear you when you speak about astro- 
nomy, or other parts of the mathematics, because that is a sub- 
ject you have studied, and well understand ; but you should not 
talk of Christianity, for you have not studied it. I have ; and 
am certain that you know nothing of the matter." 



230 REVELATION II. 



REVELATION. 

Chap. i. 3. — Blessed is lie that readeth, and they 
that hear the words of this prophecy, and keepeth 
those things which are written therein. 

Lady Jane Gray was once asked by one of her friends, in a 
tone of surprise, how she could consent to forego the pleasures 
of the chace, which her parents were enjoying, and prefer sit- 
ting at home reading her Bible. She smilingly replied, " All 
amusements of that description are but a shadow of the plea- 
sure which I enjoy in reading this book." 

i. 6 — And hath made us kings and priests unto 
God and his Father. 

An old African negro, who had long served the Lord, when 
on his death-bed, was visited by his friends, who came around 
him, lamenting that he was going to die, saying, " Poor Pom- 
pey, poor Pompey is dying." The old saint, animated with 
the prospect before him, said to them with much earnestness, 
" Don't call me poor Pompey, I King Pompey ;" referring to 
the preceding passage, in which the saints are spoken of as be- 
ing made kings and priests unto God. 

ii. 5 — I w ill come unto thee quickly, and will re- 
move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou 
repent. 

A late missionary traveller, in speaking of Ephesus, says, 
" The candlestick is out of its place. How doth the city sit 
solitary that was full of people ! The site of this once famous 
city is now covered with grass or grain. The church of St 
John stands deserted and in ruins, having been occupied as a 
mosque, after the country fell into the hands of the Mahom- 
medans. In this church are some immensely large pillars of gra- 
nite, said to have been taken from the temple of Diana ; hav- 
ing served successively as a Pagan, a Christian, and a Mahom- 
medan place of worship. No human being now lives in Ephe- 
sus, a few miserable Turkish huts are alone seen in this desolate 
spot. The streets are obscured and overgrown ; and a noisy 



REVELATION III. 231 

flight of crows seemed to insult its silence. The call of the 
partridge is heard in the area of the theatre and the stadium. 
The pomp of its heathen worship is no longer remembered ; 
and Christianity, which was planted and nursed by the Apos- 
tles, no longer lingers in this once favoured church." 

ii. 9. — I know thy works, and tribulation, and po- 
verty : but thou art rich. 

The following lines were occasioned by the circumstance of 
a person's going lately into the house of a poor pious man, 
with a large family, and saying to him, " My friend, you seem 
to be very poor ;" to which the man replied, " How can you 
call me poor, when, through the grace of Christ, all things are 
mine?" 

How canst thou call me poor ? All things are mine. 

Whate'er I ask, my God replies, " 'Tis thine, 

The world, life, death, things present, things to come." 

Such is my store in Christ ; a countless sum ! 

The world may think me poor, as I think them : 

Their treasures I, my riches they, contemn. 

They have their good things now, for mine I wait ; 

How worthless theirs at best ; the least of mine how great ! 

iii. 8. — Thou hast kept my word, and hast not 

denied my name. 

In the beginning of the reign of Queen Mary of England, a 
pursuivant was sent to bring Bishop Latimer to London, of 
which he had notice six hours before he arrived. But instead 
of fleeing, he prepared for his journey to London ; and, when 
the pursuivant was come, he said to him, " My friend you are 
welcome. I go as willingly to London, to give an account of 
my faith, as ever I went to any place in the world. And I 
doubt not, but as the Lord made me worthy formerly to preach 
the word before two excellent princes, he will now enable me 
to bear witness to the truth before the third, either to her eternal 
comfort or discomfort." As he rode on this occasion through 
Smithfield, he said, " That Smithfield had groaned for him a 
long time." 

iii. 19. — As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. 

Mr Newton had a very happy talent of administering re- 
proof. Hearing that a person, in whose welfare he was greatly 
interested, had met with peculiar success in business, and was 



232 REVELATION IT. 

deeply immersed in worldly engagements, the first time he 
called on him, which was usually once a month, he took him 
by the hand, and drawing him on one side, into the counting- 
house, told him his apprehensions of his spiritual welfare. His 
friend, without making any reply, called down his partner in 
life, who came with her eyes suffused in tears, and unable to 
speak. Inquiring the cause, he was told she had just been 
sent for to one of her children, that was out at nurse, and sup- 
posed to be in dying circumstances. Clasping her hands im- 
mediately in his, Mr N. cried, " God be thanked, he has not 
forsaken you ! I do not wish your babe to suffer, but I am 
happy to find he gives you this token of his favour." 

iv. 7 — And the first beast was like a lion. 

As the four beasts, or living creatures, are understood by 
many good commentators to be symbolical of the ministers of 
the gospel, the lion here may be considered as the emblem of 
their courage or boldness. Of this the following anecdote will 
furnish an example. 

Bishop Latimer having one day preached before King Henry 
VIII. a sermon which displeased his majesty, he was ordered 
to preach again on the next Sabbath, and to make an apology 
for the offence he had given. After reading his text, the bishop 
thus began his sermon: — k< Hugh Latimer, dost thou know 
before whom thou art this day to speak? To the high and 
mighty monarch, the king's most excellent majesty, who can 
take away thy life if thou offendest; therefore, take heed that 
thou speakest not a word that may displease; but then con- 
sider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou cora- 
est ; upon whose message thou art sent ? Even by the great 
and mighty God ! who is all-present ! and who beholdeth all 
thy ways ! and who is able to cast thy soul into hell i There- 
fore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully." 
He then proceeded with the same sermon he had preached the 
preceding Sabbath, but with considerably more energy. The 
sermon ended, the court were full of expectation to know what 
would be the fate of this honest and plain-dealing bishop. After 
dinner, the king called for Latimer, and, with a stern coun- 
tenance, asked him how he dared to be so bold as to preach in 
such a manner. He, falling on his knees, replied, his duty to 
his God and his prince had enforced him thereto, and that he 
had merely discharged his duty and his conscience in what he 
had spoken. Upon which the king, rising from his seat, and 



REVELATION V. 233 

taking the good man by the hand, embraced him, saying, 
" Blessed be God, I have so honest a servant !" 

iv. 11. — Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive 
glory, and honour, and power : for thou hast created 
all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were 
created. 

Dr Burnet, who was intimately acquainted with the honour- 
able Robert Boyle, and wrote his life, says, " It appeared to 
those who conversed with him on his inquiries into nature, 
that his main design was to raise in himself and others, vaster 
thoughts of the greatness and glory, of the wisdom and good- 
ness of God. This was so deep in his thoughts, that he con- 
cludes the article of his will, which alludes to that illustrious 
body the Royal Society, in these words, ' Wishing them a 
happy success in their laudable attempts to discover the true 
nature of the works of God ; and praying that they, and all 
other searchers into physical truths, may cordially refer their 
attainments to the Great Author of nature, and to the comfort 
of mankind.' " 

v. 6. — In the midst of the throne, and of the four 
beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb, 
as it had been slain. 

Thomas, Earl of Kinnoul, a short time before his death, in 
a long and serious conversation with the late Rev. Dr Kemp 
of Edinburgh, thus expressed himself: — " I have always con- 
sidered the atonement to be character! stical of the gospel, as a 
system of religion. Strip it of that doctrine, and you reduce 
it to a scheme of morality, excellent indeed, and such as the 
world never saw ; but to man, in the present state of his facul- 
ties, absolutely impracticable. The atonement of Christ, and 
the truths immediately connected with that fundamental prin- 
ciple, provide a remedy for all the wants and weaknesses of our 
nature. They who strive to remove those precious doctrines 
from the word of God, do an irreparable injury to the grand 
and beautiful system of religion which it contains, as well as to 
the comforts and hopes of man. For my own part, I am now 
an old man, and have experienced the infirmities of advanced 
years. Of late, in the course of severe and dangerous illness, 
I have been repeatedly brought to the gates of death. My 



234 REVELATION VI. 

time in this world cannot now be long ; but, with truth I can 
declare that, in the midst of all my past afflictions, my heart - 
was supported and comforted by a firm reliance upon the me- 
rits and atonement of my Saviour; and now, in the prospect of 
entering upon an eternal world, this is the only foundation of 
• my confidence and hope." In these sentiments he steadily per- 
severed, till, on the 27th of December 1787, he expired with- 
out a struggle or a groan. 

v. 9 Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to 

God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, 

and people, and nation. 

An Indian describing his conversion, says, " After some 
time, Brother Rauch came into my hut, and sat down by me. 
He spoke to me nearly as follows: — ' I come to you in the 
name of the Lord of heaven and earth ; he sends to let you 
know that he will make you happy, and deliver you from the 
misery you lie in at present. To this end he became a man, 
gave his life a ransom for man, and shed his blood for him.' 
When he had finished his discourse, he lay down upon a board, 
fatigued by the journey, and fell into a sound sleep. I then 
thought, What kind of man is this ? Here he lies and sleeps ; 
I might kill him, and throw him into the wood, and who would 
regard it ? But this gives him no concern. However, I could 
not forget his words. They constantly recurred to my mind. 
Even when I was asleep, I dreamed of the blood which Christ 
shed for us. I found this to be something different from what 
I had ever heard, and I interpreted Christian Henry's words 
to the other Indians. Thus, through the grace of God, an 
awakening took place amongst us. I say, therefore, brethren, 
preach Christ our Saviour, and his sufferings and death, if you 
would have your words to gain entrance amongst the heathen.'' 

vi. 4. — Power was given to him that sat thereon 
to take peace from the earth, and that they should 
kill one another; and there was given unto him a 
great sword. 

In a German publication, the loss of men, during the late 
war, from 1802 to 1813 — in St Domingo, Calabria, Russia, 
Poland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, &c. including the 
maritime war, contagious diseases, famine, &c. is stated to 



REVELATION VII. 235 

amount to the dreadful sum of Five Millions Eight Hundred 
Thousand ! 

vi. 12. — There was a great earthquake. 

" The 26th of March" (1812), says the St Thomas's Ga- 
zette, " has been a day of woe and horror to the province of 
Venzuela. At four in the afternoon, the city of Caraccas 
stood in all its splendour. A few minutes later, 4500 houses, 
19 churches and convents, together with all the other public 
buildings, &c. were crushed to atoms by a sudden shock of an 
earthquake, which did not la°t a minute, and buried thousands 
of the devoted inhabitants in ruins and desolation. That day 
happened to be Maunday Thursday, and at the hour when 
every place of worship was crowded, to commemorate the com- 
mencement of our Saviour's passion, by public procession, 
which was to proceed through the streets a few minutes after- 
wards. The number of hapless sufferers was thus augmented 
to an incredible amount, as every church was levelled with the 
ground, before any person could be aware of danger. The 
number of sufferers taken out of one of the churches, two days 
after this disaster, amounted alone to upwards of 300 corpses. 
An idea of the extent of the number of dead is differently stated, 
from 4000 to 8000. The next town and sea-port thereto, viz. 
La Guayra, has in proportion suffered still more, as well as its 
immediate coast. Huge masses of the mountains detached them- 
selves from the summits, and hurled down into the valleys. Deep 
clefts and separations of the immense bed of rocks, still threaten 
future disaster to the hapless survivors, who are now occupied 
in burying and burning the dead, and in relieving the numer- 
ous wounded and cripples perishing for want of surgical aid, 
shelter, and other comforts." 

vii. 3. — Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor 
the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God 
in their foreheads. 

The sealing here mentioned is considered by commentators 
as signifying God's marking his people out for safety, both from 
temporal and spiritual evils. The following anecdote may il- 
lustrate the watchful care of Providence over a distinguished 
servant of God, in circumstances of danger. 

Mr Hervcy, on one occasion, when returning from London, 
met with a singular deliverance, which he gratefully records. 



236 REVELATION VII. 

" I set out for Northampton," says he, in a new machine, called 
The Berlin, which holds four passengers, is drawn by a pair of 
horses, and driven in the manner of a post-chaise. On this 
side Newport, we came up with a stage-coach, and made an 
attempt to pass it. This the coachman perceiving, mended his 
pace, which provoked the driver of the Berlin to do the same, 
till they both lashed their horses into a full career, and were 
more like running a race than conveying passengers. We very 
narrowly escaped falling foul on each other's wheels. I called 
out to the fellows, but to no purpose. It is possible, amidst 
the rattle and hurry, they did not hear ; it is certain they did 
not regard. Within the space of a minute or two, what I ap- 
prehended happened. My vehicle was overturned, and thrown 
with great violence on the ground ; the coachman was tossed 
off his box, and lay bleeding on the road. There was only one 
person in the coach, and none but myself in the Berlin ; yet 
neither of us (so singular was the goodness, so tender the care 
of Divine Providence !) sustained any considerable hurt. I re- 
ceived only a slight bruise, and had the skin razed from my 
leg, when I might too reasonably have feared the misfortune 
of broken bones, dislocated limbs, or a fractured skull. Have 
I not abundant reason to adopt the Psalmist's acknowledg- 
ment? ' Thou hast delivered my life from death, mine eyes 
from tears, and my feet from falling.' Have I not abundant 
reason to make his grateful inquiry, * What shall I render to 
the Lord for all his benefits towards me ?' And ought I not 
to add his holy resolution, ' I will walk before the Lord, in the 
land of the living ?' So long as this life exists, which has been 
so wonderfully and mercifully preserved, it shall be devoted to 
the honour of my great deliverer." 

vii. 14 These are they which came out of great 

tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb. 

William Tovart, a martyr of Antwerp, in a pious letter, thus 
expressed, as he very safely and scripturally might, his belief 
of the happiness of martyrs. " The eternal Son of God will 
confess their names before his heavenly Father, and his holy 
angels. They shall be clad with white robes, and shine as the 
sun in the kingdom of heaven, filled with gladness in the pre- 
sence of the Lamb. They shall eat of the fruit of the tree of 
life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." 






REVELATION VIII. 237 

viii. 3. — There was given unto him much incense, 
that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints. 

A number of ministers were assembled for the discussion of 
difficult questions ; and, among others, it was asked, how the 
command to " pray without ceasing" could be complied with. 
Various suppositions were started, and at length one of the 
number was appointed to write an essay upon it to read at the 
next monthly meeting ; which being overheard by a female 
servant, she exclaimed, " What ! a whole month wanted to tell 
the meaning of that text ! It is one of the easiest and best texts 
in the Bible." " Well, well," said an old minister, " Mary, 
what can you say about it. Let us know how you understand 
it ; can you pray all the time?" " O yes, Sir." " What ! 
when you have so many things to do?" " Why, sir, the more 
I have to do, the more I can pray." " Indeed; well Mary, do 
let us know how it is; for most people think otherwise?" 
" Well, sir," said the girl, " When I first open my eyes in the 
morning, I pray, Lord open the eyes of my understanding; 
and while I am dressing, I pray that I may be clothed with the 
robe of righteousness ; and when I have washed me, I ask for 
the washing of regeneration ; and as 1 begin work, I pray that 
1 may have strength equal to my day ; when I begin to kindle 
up the fire, I pray that God's work may revive in my soul ; 
and as I sweep out the house, I pray that my heart may be 
cleansed from all its impurities ; and, while preparing and par- 
taking of breakfast, I desire to be fed with the hidden manna, 
and the sincere milk of the word ; and as I am busy with the 
little children, I look up to God as my Father, and pray for 
the spirit of adoption that I may be his child, and so on all 
day ; every thing I do furnishes me with a thought for prayer." 
" Enough, enough," cried the old divine, " these things are 
revealed to babes, and often hid from the wise and prudent. 
Go on, Mary," said he, " pray without ceasing; and as for 
us, my brethren, "let us bless the Lord for this exposition, and 
remember that He has said, ' The meek will he guide in judg- 
ment.' " The essay, as a matter of course, was not considered 
necessary after this little event occurred. 

viii. 5. — There were thunderings and lightnings. 

A profane persecutor discovered great terror during a storm 
of thunder and lightning which overtook him on a journey. 
His pious wife, who was with him, inquired the reason of his 



238 REVELATION IX. 

terror. He replied by asking, " Are not you afraid?" She 
answered, " Ko, it is the voice of my Heavenly Father ; and 
should a child be afraid of its father ?" " Surely (thought the 
man) these puritans have a divine principle in them which the 
world seeth not, otherwise they could not have such serenity 
in their souls, when the rest of the world are filled with dread." 
Upon this, going to Mr Bolton, of Broughton, near Kettering, 
he lamented the opposition which he had made to his ministry, 
and became a godly man ever after. 

ix. 3 There came out of the smoke locusts upon 

the earth. 

The natural locusts are well known to be a dreadful scourge 
to the countries they visit. From 1778 to 1780, the empire of 
Morocco was terribly devastated by them, every green thing 
was eaten up, not even the bitter bark of the orange and pome- 
granate escaping. A most dreadful famine ensued. The poor 
were seen to wander over the country, deriving a miserable 
subsistence from the roots of plants ; and women and children 
followed the camels, from whose dung they picked the undi- 
gested grains of barley, which they devoured with avidity; in 
consequence of this, vast numbers perished, and the roads and 
streets exhibited the unburied carcasses of the dead. On this 
sad occasion, fathers sold their children, and husbands their 



ix. 20. — Idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and 
stone, and of wood ; which neither can see, nor hear, 
nor walk. 

When Mr Money resided, some years since, in the Mahratta 
country, as his daughter, not then three years old, was walking 
out with a native servant, they came near an old Hindoo tem- 
ple, when the man stepped aside, and " made his salaam," as 
they call it, to a stone idol at the door. The child, in her 
simple language, said, " Saamy (that was his name) what for 
you do that ?" " Oh missy," said he, " that my god." " Your 
god, Saamy ! why, your god no see — no hear — no walk — your 
god stone. My God see every thing — my God made you, 
made me, made every thing." Mr M. and his family resided 
there for some time ; Saamy continued to worship at the tem- 
ple, and missy to reprove him ; but, when they were about to 



REVELATION XL 239 

leave India, the poor heathen said, " What will poor Saamy 
do when missy go to England ? Saamy no father, no mother !" 
The child replied, " Oh Saamy, if you love my God, he will 
be your father and mother too." He promised to do so. 
'* Then," said she, you must learn my prayers." He agreed; 
and she taught him the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and her morn- 
ing and evening hymns. Some time after this, he desired to 
learn English, that he might read the Bible ; and he became at 
length a serious and consistent Christian. 

x. 6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and 

ever, that there should be time no longer. 

A young man, in giving an account of his conversion, says, 
" One Sabbath, after attending divine service, and after the 
rest of the day spent in awful transgression, I returned home in 
the evening and joined the family, to whom my sister was read- 
ing a tract aloud. Contrary to my usual practice, I remained 
to hear it, and, with my sin fresh in remembrance, I listened 
with deep concern to its awful truths. It was entitled ' The 
end of time.' The passages which particularly struck me 
were these : — 'The end of time !' Then shall the sinner's heart 
give up its last hope. None are completely miserable before 
death ; indeed, the vilest men are often the most merry ; but 
it will not be always so, — their joy will be turned into heavi- 
ness. Imagine the Judge upon the throne, calling you to an- 
swer these inquiries at his bar, * How have you spent the many 
Sabbaths I have afforded ? Did you improve your time well ? 
Time shall end ! How valuable then while it lasts, particularly 
to the unprepared ! Every hour you have is a merciful respite. 
Go forth and meet your offended Sovereign ! Seek him while 
he may be found ; call on him while he is near. Go in the 

name of Jesus, plead his righteousness — his blood — his death 

his intercession, and say, God be merciful to me a sinner !' " 
The young man read the tract, and prayed over it. The Lord 
was pleased to open the eyes of his understanding, and to be- 
gin a good work in him. He is now a candidate for the minis- 
try, and a consistently pious character. 

xi. 9 — They shall see their dead bodies three days 
and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to 
be put in graves. 

Admiral Coligny was among the earliest victims of popish 



240 REVELATION XII. 

treachery and cruelty, in the bloody massacre at Paris in 1572. 
One Beheme, a German, was the first that entered his cham- 
ber; who said, " Are you the Admiral?" " I am," said he, 
" but you, young man, should have regard to my hoary head 
and old age." Beheme struck him with his sword. Several 
other assassins rushed into the room, and the venerable Coligny 
fell covered with wounds. The Duke of Guise ordered his 
body to be thrown out at the window, that the people might be 
assured it was he. His head was cut off, and sent to the king 
and queen mother ; who got it embalmed, and gave it as a pre- 
sent to the Pope. His body was dragged about the streets for 
three days together. Such was the end of this brave man, who 
was the first nobleman in France that professed himself a pro- 
tectant, and a defender of the protestant cause. 

xii. 10. — The accuser of our brethren is cast 
down, which accused them before our God day and 
night. 

Mr Dod, a little before his death, experienced some severe 
conflicts with Satan ; but he was enabled, through grace, to 
obtain the victory. One morning, about two o'clock, he said 
to the person who sat up with him, " That he had, from the 
beginning of the night, been wrestling with Satan ; who had 
accused him as having neither preached nor prayed, nor per- 
formed any duty as he should have done, either for manner or 
end. But" continued he, " I have answered him from the ex- 
amples of the prodigal and the publican." 

xii. 12. — The devil is come down unto you, hav- 
ing great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath 
but a short time. 

" I asked, the Rev. Legh Richmond," says one, " how we 
were to reconcile the increase of religion with the acknowledg- 
ed growth of crime, as evinced in our courts of justice ? He 
answered, ' Both are true. Bad men are becoming worse, and 
good men better. The first are ripening for judgment, the 
latter for glory. The increase of wickedness is, in this respect, 
a proof of the increase of religion. The devil is wroth, know- 
ing that his time is short."' 



REVELATION XIV. 241 

xiii.6. — He opened his mouth in blasphemy against 

God. 

Pope Julius, sitting at dinner one day, and pointing to a pea- 
cock which he had not touched, " Keep," said he, " this cold 
peacock forme against supper, and let me sup in the garden ; for 
I shall have guests." When supper came, the peacock was not 
brought to the table, on which the Pope, after his wonted man- 
ner, fell into an extreme rage. One of his cardinals, sitting 
by, desired him not to be so moved with a matter of such small 
weight. " What !" said the Pope, " if God was so angry for 
an apple, that he cast our first parents out of Paradise for the 
same, why may not I, being his Vicar, be angry for a peacock, 
since a peacock is a greater matter than an apple ?" 

xiii. 14. — And deceiveth them that dwell on the 
earth, by means of those miracles which he had power 
to do in the sight of the beast. 

In an official and authorised Roman Catholic publication, 
printed in 1801, we are told that no less than twenty-six pic- 
tures of the Virgin Mary opened and shut their eyes at Rome, 
in the years 1796 and 1797, which was supposed to be an indi- 
cation of her peculiar grace and favour to the Roman people, 
on account of their opposition to the French at that period. 
Among the subscribers to this work are the four Popish arch- 
bishops, and eleven Popish bishops of Ireland! It also states, 
that, on the same occasion, the face of a statue of the Virgin at 
Torrice changed colour, and perspiration appeared upon it ! 
Surely the senseless block manifested more sensibility than the 
unblushing relaters of such tales ; but the protestant reader can 
hardly avoid similar sensations upon hearing such fabrications. 
It may remind us of the words of the apostle, " They received 
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved ; and for this 
cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should 
• believe a lie." 

xiv. 13 Blessed are the dead which die in the 

Lord. 

Of Mr Stephen Marshall, an eminent divine of the 17th cen- 
tury, Mr Giles Firman, who knew him in life, and attended foiui 
in death, says, " That he left b-jhind him few preachers LLe 



242 REVELATION XVI. 

himself; that he was a Christian in practice as well as profes- 
sion ; that he lived by faith, and died by faith, and was an ex- 
ample to the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in 
faith, and in purity. And when he, together with some others, 
conversed with him about his death, he replied, * I cannot say 
as one did, I have not so lived that I should now be afraid to 
die ; but this I can say, I have so learned Christ, that I am not 
afraid to die.' " 

xv. 2 — I saw them that had gotten the victory 
over the beast, and over his image, and over his 
mark, and over the number of his name. 

Luther, having rejected with disdain the great offers by which 
Alexander, the Papal legate, attempted to gain him over to the 
court of Rome ; " He is a ferocious brute (exclaimed the le- 
gate, equally confounded and disappointed), whom nothing can 
soften, and who regards riches and honours as mere dirt ; other- 
wise the Pope would long ago have loaded him with favours." 

xvi. 15. — Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he 

that watcheth. 

The honourable Robert Boyle was, from early youth, sin- 
gularly attentive to derive moral and religious improvement 
from every object in nature, and every occurrence in life. In 
the year 1648, he made a short excursion to the Hague. Sail- 
ing home, between Rotterdam and Gravesend, he saw, through 
a perspective glass, a vessel imagined to be a pirate, and to 
give chace to the ship in which he was embarked. The occa- 
sion suggested to him the following judicious reflection: — 
" This glass does, indeed, cause the distrusted vessel to ap- 
proach ; but it causes her to approach only to our eyes, not to 
our ship. If she be not making up to us, this harmless instru- 
ment will prove no loadstone to draw her towards us ; and if 
she be, it will put us in better readiness to receive her. Such 
an instrument, in relation to death, is the meditation of it, by 
mortals so much and so causelessly abhorred. For though most 
men studiously shun all thoughts of death, as if like a nice ac- 
quaintance, he would forbear to visit where he knows he is never 
thought of; or, as if we would exempt ourselves from being 
mortal, by forgetting that we are so ; yet meditation on this 
subject brings the awful reality nearer to our view, without at 



REVELATION XVII. 243 

all lessening the real distance betwixt us and death. If our 
last enemy be not approaching us, this innocent meditation will 
no more quicken his pace than direct his steps ; and if he be, it 
will, without hastening his arrival, prepare us for his recep- 
tion." 

xvi 21 — And there fell upon men a great hail 
out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a 
talent. 

Natural historians record various instances of surprising 
showers of hail, in which the hailstones were of extraordinary 
magnitude. An author, speaking of the war of Louis XII. 
in Italy, in 1510, relates, that there was for some time a hor- 
rible darkness, thicker than that of night ; after which the 
clouds broke into thunder and lightning, and there fell a shower 
of hailstones, or rather, as he calls them, pebble stones, which 
destroyed all the fish, birds, and beasts in the country. It was 
attended with a strong smell of sulphur ; and the stones were 
of a bluish colour, some of them weighing 100 pounds. 

xvii. 5. — Babylon the Great, the mother of har- 
lots, and abominations of the earth. 

A Jew went from Paris to Rome, in order to acquire a just 
idea of the Christian religion, as at the fountain head. There 
he beheld simony, intrigue, and abominations of all sorts ; and, 
after gratifying his curiosity in every particular, returned to 
France, where he gave a detail of his observations to a friend, 
by whom he had been long solicited to abjure Judaism. From 
such a recital, the Christian expected nothing but an obstinate 
perseverance in the old worship ; and was struck with amaze- 
ment when the Jew acquainted him with his resolution of re- 
questing baptism, upon the following grounds of conviction: — 
*' That he had seen at Rome every body, from the Pope down 
to the beggar, using all their endeavours to subvert the Chris- 
tian faith ; which, nevertheless, daily took deeper and firmer 
root, and must therefore be of divine institution." 

xvii. 6 — I saw the woman drunken with the blood 
of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of 



244 REVELATION XVIII. 

Jesus ; and when I saw her, I wondered with great 
admiration. 

According to the calculation of some, about two hundred 
thousand suffered death in seven years, under Pope Julian ; no 
less than a hundred thousand were massacred by the French in 
the space of three months ; the Waldenses who perished, 
amounted to one million ; within thirty years, the Jesuits de- 
stroyed nine hundred thousand; under the Duke of Alva, 
thirty-six thousand were executed by the common hangman ; 
a hundred and fifty thousand perished in the inquisition ; and 
a hundred and fifty thousand by the Irish massacre ; besides the 
vast multitude of whom the world could never be particularly 
informed, who were proscribed, banished, burned, starved, buri- 
ed alive, smothered, suffocated, drowned, assassinated, chained 
to the gallies for life, or immured within the horrid wails of the 
Bastile, or others of their church or state prisons. According 
to some, the whole number of persons massacred since the rise 
of Papacy, amounts to fifty millions ! 

xviii. 4 — Come out of her, my people, that ye be 
not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of 
her plagues. 

Luther often mentioned to his familiar acquaintance, the ad- 
vantage which he derived from a visit to Rome in 1501, and 
used to say that he would not exchange that journey for 1000 
florins ; so much did it contribute to open his eyes to the cor- 
ruptions of the Romish court, and to weaken his prejudices. 

xviii. 12, 13 — The merchandize of slaves. 

A late traveller at the Cape of Good Hope, says, in a letter 
to a friend, " Having learned that there was to be a sale of 
cattle, farm-stock, &c. by auction, we stopt our waggon for 
the purpose of procuring fresh oxen. Among the stock of the 
farm was a female slave and her three children. The farmers 
examined them as if they had been so many head of cattle. 
They were sold separately, and to different purchasers. Th 
tears, the anxiety, the anguish of the mother, while she metth 
gaze of the multitude, eyed the different countenances of tb . 
bidders, or cast a heart-rending look upon the children ; ar 
the simplicity and touching sorrow of the poor young one 



REVELATION XX. 245 

while they clung to their distracted parent, wiping their eyes, 
and half-concealing their faces, contrasted with the marked in- 
difference and laughing countenances of the spectators, fur- 
nished a striking commentary on the miseries of slavery, and 
its debasing effects upon the hearts of its supporters. While 
the woman was in this distressed situation, she was asked, 
* Can you feed sheep ?' Her reply was so indistinct, that it 
escaped me ; but it was probably in the negative, for her pur- 
chaser rejoined in a loud and harsh voice, * Then I will teach you 
with the sjamboc,' — a whip made of the rhinoceros's hide. The 
mother and her three children were literally torn from each 
other." 

xix. 9 — These are the true sayings of God. 

" Well Hodge," said a smart-looking Londoner to a plain 
cottager, who was on his way home from church, " so you are 
trudging home, after taking the benefit of the fine balmy breezes 
in the country this morning." — " Sir," said the man, " I have 
not been strolling about this sacred morning, wasting my time 
in idleness and neglect of religion ; but I have been at the house 
of God, to worship him, and to hear his preached word." " Ah, 
what then, you are one of those simpletons, that in these coun- 
try places, are weak enough to believe the Bible? Believe 
me, my man, that book is nothing but a pack of nonsense ; 
and none but weak and ignorant people now think it true." 
" Well, Mr Stranger, but do you know, weak and ignorant as 
we country people are, we like to have two strings to our bow." 
" Two strings to your bow ! what do you mean by that ?" 
" Why, Sir, I mean, that to believe the Bible, and to act up 
to it, is like having two strings to one's bow ; for, if it is not 
true, I shall be the better man for living according to it, and 
so it will be for my good in this life — that is one string ; and 
if it should be true, it will be better for me in the next life — 
that is another string ; and a pretty strong one it is. But, Sir, 
if you disbelieve the Bible, and on that account do not live as 
it requires, you have not one string to your bow. And ! if 
its tremendous threats prove true, think ! what then, Sir, 
will become of you !" This plain appeal silenced the coxcomb, 
and made him feel, it is hoped, that he was not quite so wise 
as he supposed. 

xx. 7, 8. — And when the thousand years are ex- 



246 REVELATION XX. 

pired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and 
shall go out to deceive the nations. 

An islander in the South Seas, once proposed the following 
query to the missionaries : — " You say God is a holy and a 
powerful Being ; that Satan is the cause of a vast increase of 
moral evil or wickedness in the world, by exciting or dispos- 
ing men to sin. If Satan be only a dependant creature, and 
the cause of so much evil, which is displeasing to God, why 
does God not kill Satan at once, and thereby prevent all the 
evil of which he is the author ?" In answer, he was told, 
44 that the facts of Satan's dependance on, or subjection to the 
Almighty, and his yet being permitted to tempt men to evil, 
were undeniable from the declarations of Scripture, and the 
experience of every one accustomed to observe the operations 
of his own mind. Such an one, it was observed, would often 
find himself exposed to an influence that could be attributed 
only to satanic agency ; but that, why he was permitted to exert 
this influence on man, was not made known in the Bible." 

xx. 1 3. — The sea gave up the dead which were in 
it. 

Mr Greenleaf, editor of the Sailor's Magazine, has kept a 
register of marine disasters which have come to his knowledge 
within the year 1836, and the result is appalling. The whole 
number, counting only those which resulted in a total loss of 
the vessel, was no less than four hundred and ninety, viz. ships 
and barques, 94; brigs, 135; schooners, 234; sloops, 12; 
steam-boats, 15; total, 490. Most of the vessels included in 
this melancholy list were American. Forty-three of them were 
lost toward the close of 1836 ; but the intelligence of their fate 
was not received here until J 837. Thirty-eight were lost in 
the month of January, fifty-four in February, twenty-four in 
March, thirty in April, nineteen in May, fifteen in June, forty- 
two in July, fifty in August, thirty-two in September, forty- 
three in October, forty-three in November, and six in Decem- 
ber. The precise time when the remaining vessels were lost 
could not be satisfactorily ascertained. In the above named 
vessels, 1295 lives are reported as being lost. 

What multitudes will be found, at the great rising day, to 
have been entombed in the mighty deep ! What a display of 
infinite wisdom, and almighty power will then be given in 



REVELATION XXIT. 247 

raising the bodies of these multitudes, many of whom were de- 
voured by voracious fishes ! Surely the numerous perils of the 
sea, call on sailors to be men of piety and prayer, and call on 
all who derive benefit from their labours and hazards (and 
who, in this sea-girt isle, in one form or another, does not ?) 
at least to remember them in their prayers. Certainly they 
ought to occupy a place, more frequently than they do, in the 
public prayers of the church. 

xxi. 6 — I will give unto him that is athirst of the 
fountain of the water of life freely. 

An Indian woman from Mevissing, came to one of the mission- 
aries, and told him that, as soon as she had a good heart she 
would turn to the Lord Jesus. " Ah !" replied he, " you 
want to walk on your head. How can you get a good heart 
unless you first come to Jesus for the sanctifying grace of his 
Holy Spirit ?" 

xxi. 27. — And there shall in no wise enter into it 
any thing that defileth. 

Some of the last expressions of the Rev. Henry Martyn 
were : — u O when shall time give place to eternity ! When 
shall appear the new heaven and earth, wherein dwelleth 
righteousness ! There, there shall in no wise enter in any thing 
that defileth ; none of that wickedness which has made men 
worse than wild beasts, none of those corruptions that add still 
more to the miseries of mortality, shall be seen or heard of any 
more!" After breathing forth these heavenly aspirations, he 
entered into the joy of his Lord. 

xxii. 4 — They shall see his face. 

An old Welsh minister, while one day pursuing his studies, his 
wife being in the room, was suddenly interrupted by her asking 
him a question, which has not always been so satisfactorily an- 
swered. " John Evans, do you think we shall be known to 
each other in heaven ?" " To be sure we shall," he replied 
M do you think we shall be greater fools there than we are 
here ?" After a momentary pause, he again proceeded, u But, 
Margaret, I may be a thousand years by your side in heaven 
without having seen you ; for the first thing which will attract 



248 REVELATION XXII. 

my notice when I arrive there, will be my dear Saviour ; and 
I cannot tell when I shall be for a moment induced to look at 
any other object." 

xxii. 7. — Behold I come quickly : blessed is he 

that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 

The 19th of May, 1780, was remarkably dark in Connecticut. 
Candles were lighted in many houses ; the birds were silent, 
and disappeared ; and domestic fowls retired to roost. The 
people were impressed by the idea that the day of judgment 
was at hand. This opinion was entertained by the legislature, 
at that time sitting at Hartford. The house of representatives 
adjourned ; the council proposed to follow the example. Colo- 
nel Davenport objected. — " The day of judgment," said he, " is 
either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause 
for adjourning; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. 
I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought." 



INDEX. 



The Figures refer to the Pages. 



Advice, good and useful, 141, 204 
Advice, dying, 27, 46. 138. 203 
Affection, filial, commended, 87 
Affection, filial, outraged, 38. 
Affection, parental, outraged, 119, 

187 
Aid in preaching, 83 
Aid withheld. 151 
Alligator and tiger, 36 
Amusements, when lawful, 55 
Arguments, useful, 10. 200. 
Aspiration, devout, 247 
Atonement the only ground of hope, 

164, 205. 210, 233 
Aversion overcome by kindness, 22 

Bacon's estimate of himself, 104 
Bees, and the French Bishop, 32 
Beggar's prayer answered, 69 
Benevolence, Christian, 173 
Berridge, and the Bishop, 116 
Bible, inspiration of the, 83 
Bible and Age of Reason compared, 

184 
Bible forbidden to be read, 55 
Bible preferred to amusement, 230 
Bible teaches contentment, 211 
Bible, why chained, 73 
Bigotry, 128 
Birth-day, 5, 152 
Birth-place, 61 
Elack ewe in every flock. 85 
Blasphemer, awful death of a, 195 
Blasphemy of a Pope, 241 
Book, and its meaning, 46 
Boy, a pious. 170 
Burying, a particular mode of, 147 

Censoriousness reproved, 150, 153, 

198, 215 
Chains, why esteemed. 118 
Challenge accepted, 157 
Charity exemplified, 15, 29, 33, 42,155 



Choice, the generous, 78 
Christianity, divine origin of, 70 
Clapping, new method of, 148 
Columba, St., no prophet, 82 
Comfort ministered, 141. 183 
Commentator, a youthful, 74, 80, 

118 
Company, bad, abandoned, 103 
Company, danger of bad, 147 
Company, the best, 223 
Confession, partial, 27 
Conscience, use of, 77, 138, 166, 188 
Contentment, motives to, 88 
Contrast, a, 142 

Conversation, beneficial effects of, 121 
Conversion of a widow's son, 20 
Conversion of a Persian, 59 
Conversion of Mr A. Henderson, 79 
Conversion of an idolater, 98 
Conversion of a fish-woman, 105 
Conversion of a physician, 163 
Conversion of a young man, 187 
Conversion, hindrance to, 119, 174 
Countryman and infidels, 11 
Couple, a reconciled, 22 
Courteouf.ness and civility, 219 
Courtship broken off, 154 
Criticism out of place, 134 
Cromwell and the Knight, 42 
Cruelty punished, 56 
Cruelty to slaves, 244 
Curate relieved, 107 

Dancing, why disapproved of, 37 
Danger, courage in, 52, 117, 122 
Death, awful, of a niggardly gentle- 
man, 60 
Death, awful, of Voltaire, 77 
Death, awful, of a poor woman, 94 
Death, awful, of a persecutor, 113 
Death, awful, of infidels, 126, 209, 222 
Death, happy, of a little girl, 41 
Death, happy, of Mr Hervey, 47 



250 



INDEX. 



Death, happy, of Dr Sampson, 89 
Death, happy, of Dr Watts, 181 
Death, happy, of Mr Halyburton, 189 
Death, happy, of an African negro, 

230 
Death, fear of, removed, 201 
Death longed for, 11, 146, 153 
Death, preparation for, 163, 205 
Death, sudden, 28 
Denial, self, instance of, 62, 140, 173, 

196 
Dejection, mental, 26 
Delay, danger of, 202 
Deliverance from persecutors, 158 
Deportment, a becoming, 214 
Despair removed, 12, 209 
Device of Satan, 104 
Device of Satan defeated, 8, 193, 240 
Destitution, spiritual, 13 \ 
Devotion, pleasures of, 215 
Difficulty reconciled, 240 
Diligence of ministers, 199, 212 
Diminutive preacher, 158 
Disinterested conduct of Mr Howe, 

143 
Disinterested conduct of Luther, 242 
Dispute avoided, 95 
Disputers silenced, 214 
Distinction, important, 82, 89 
Doubts removed, 31. 154 
Dreams, remarkable, 92, 132, 197 
Duty, present, 56, 64, 248 
Dying minister's comforts, 206 

Early impressions, 47 

Early piety, 57 

Earthquake, dreadful effects of an, 

235 
Education, female, opposed, 103 
Education, important maxim in, 37 
Emperor of China, 96 
Epigram praised by Dr Johnson, 131 
Estimate of a clergyman's life, 14o, 

196 
Eternity, effect of seeing the word, 

152 
Experience, Christian, 108 
Extremes to be avoided, 139 

Faith, grounds of, 177, 193 
Faith and hope, arms of, 209 
Faith, negatively and positively, 302 
Faith, parental, recommended, 216 
Faith and repentance, importance of, 

110 
Familv worship beneficial, 65, 133. 

134 
Fifty, the right side of. 130 
Firmness of a Bishop, 9 



Flattery dangerous, 82 

Form and fruit, difference of, 53 

Franklin's Manual, 167 

Gardener, pious, 217 
Gardener, Scottish, reproved, 129 
Gardiner, Col., his benevolence, 51 
Gardiner, Col., his conversion, 112 
Gardiner, Col., h.s early rising, 33 
" Go," importance of the word, 45 
Good for evil, 42, 51, 130 
Gospel, good effects of the, 45, 124, 

144, 179, 199 
Grace improves intellect, 54 
Gratitude, to whom due, 171, 227 
Greek Testament, effect of studying 

it, 169 

Hall, Rev. Robert, and Dr Ryland, 

168 
Heart, corruption of the, 38 
Hearts, the two, 125 
Heaven, foretaste of, 86, 160, 168, 217 
Heaven, hoped for, 221 
Hervey, Mr, his narrow escape, 235 
Hope, ground of, 104, 208, 241 
Hospitality, Christian, 128 
Hour, the eleventh, improved, 23, 

76, 122, 148 
Howe, Mr, and the Bishop, 34 
Humane action, 33 
Humilitv, advantage of, 21, 40, 58, 

220 
Humility of Dr Owen, 181 
Huntingdon, Lady, her conversion, 

51 
Husband, a wicked, reclaimed, 218 

Idleness discouraged, 186 
Ignorance of infidels, 221 
Inconsistency, effects of, 124 
Inconsistency of an infidel, 21 d 
Indulgences, selling of, 98 
Infidel converted, 88 
Infidel convinced, 221 
Infidel silenced, 71, 129, 215 
Innkeepeer converted, 34 
Inquiry, two kinds of, 50 
Insensibility, 146 

Intrepidity and boldness, 94, 110, 232 
Inventory, Christian's, 137 

Jerusalem, siege of, 43, 65 

Jew alarmed, 93 

Jew converted. 87, 243 

Jew's advice to his friends, 151 

Judson, Mrs, 191 

Justice done, 114 



INDEX. 



251 



King Charles I. and Mr Blair, 185 
King William III. and Bishop Bur- 
net, 167 
Knowing each other in heaven, 247 

Lamb and lion, 71 
Languages, knowledge of, 91 
Last day unknown, 28 
Liberality in the cause of religion, 

44, 66, 156, 192 
Locusts, plague of, 238 
Lord's Day, regard for, 69 
Lord's Supper, how observed, 67 
Love to the Bible, 128* 
Love of Christ incomprehensible, 169 
Love of God amazing, 72, 225 
Love to God and man, 226 
Love of the world ensnaring, 20, 178, 

231 

Martyrs, English, 143, 149,216,231 
Martyrs, Foreign, 30, 77, 95, 236 
Martyrs, Scottish, 39 
Massacre, 6, 85, 239 
Melancthon and his mother, 199 
Ministerial fidelity, 48, 76, 144, 177 
Ministerial success, 8, 49, 133 
Minister's reward, 142, 227 
Missionary, first, in Kent, 182 
Mistaken view corrected, 247 
Mockery, cruel, 44, 107, 138 
Monk, a conscientious, 114 
Motives, 14, 85, 115, 213, 234 
Mourner, 6 

Murder discovered, 213 
Murder prevented, 81, 99, 114 
Murderer converted, 130 

Natures, the two, of Christ, 5 
Nobleman converted, 60 
Nobleman offended, 19 

Obedience, filial, 178, 211 

Old authors preferred, and why, 106 

Opportunities lost, regret for, 61 

Order, use of, 100 

Ordination, an, 91 

Parabolical address, affecting, 204 
Parsee and Jew, 10 
Peace, how to keep, 161 
Pearl of great price, 17 
Perfection to be aimed at, 9 
Persecution, 43, 97, 102, 165, 244 
Persecutor terrified, 237 
Peter and the Pope compared, 92 
Philosopher, the pious, 233 
Pluralities condemned, 166 



Poet Cowper, his experience, 41, 94, 

120 
Popish legends, 241 
Prayer answered, 20, 101 
Prayer, duty of, 62 
Prayer, earnest, 31, 182 
Prayer, extempore, 125 
Prayer and fasting, 25, 40 
Prayer for others effectual, ~96 
Prayer of a dying father, 210 
Prayer and resignation, 227 
Prayer, short, 18 
Prayer and watchfulness, 29 
Praying servant girl, 237 
Preacher contradicted, 87 
Preacher mimicked, 56 
Preacher, unintelligible, 146 
Preaching, field, successful, 16 
Preaching, legal, censured, 86 
Preaching, legal and evangelical, 164 
Preaching, plain and serious, 135, 136, 

150, 165,201, 204 
Preferment, unsatisfactory, 100 
Prodigal, the reformed, 60 
Profession, necessity of a, 127 
Promises, faith in the, 150, 207 
Providence, trust in, 68, 220 
Providences, remarkable, 14,67, 116, 

126, 159 
Purity of heart, its importance, 197 

Question answered, 171 
Question, important, 210 
Question, important, discussed, 190 
Question respecting the Sabbath, 142 
Question respecting Satanic agency, 
246 

Radical and Legh Richmond, 153 
Rash prayer heard, 24 
Rashness to be avoided, 109 
Rebel apprehended, 175 
Reflection of Mr Boyle, 242 
Reflection of a mother, 57, 207. 
Reflection of a sinner, 39 
Reflection of a teacher, 128 
Reflection, use of, 102, 129, 177, 219 
Register of disasters at sea, 246 
Religion, importance of, 95 
Remonstrance, dying, 84 
Repentance evidenced, 30, 108, 155 
Repentance insincere, 8 
Repentance, its meaning inquired, 

101 
Reply, a silencing, 44 
Reply, a witty, 78 

Reproof, severe but'effectual, 19, 162 
Resignation, 14, 110, 162, 175 



252 



INDEX. 



Resignation, motive to, 14 

Restitution, 63 

Riches, danger of, 20, 23, 41, 192 

Robber converted, 170 

Rogers, Mr, why so precise, 223 

Rome, Luther's visit to, 244 

Ruses, the two, 141 

Sabbath, how to be observed, 15, 58 

Sabbath-teaching useful, 25, 140 

Sailors converted, 37, 183 

Sailors, Mr Hervey's address to, 35 

Salvation by grace, 168 

Scripture illustrated, 12, 73, 80, 112, 

214 
Sermon, qualities of a good, 49, 189 
Severity in censure checked, 195 
Simple ignorance, 204 
Sin, how best mortified, 123, 194 
Sin, its fatal progress, 212 
Situation, the worst, 28 
Sleep, the talker in, 174 
Sleepy hearers reproved, 53, 109 
Smuggling reproved by a boy, 26 
Socinianism discarded, 135 
Soldier, a pious, 99 
Soldiers, swearing, 12 
Sovereignty of grace, 186 
Stones, a shower of, 243 
Sufferings for Christ honourable, 219 
Suicide prevented, 12, 106, 160 
Superstition in the East, 31 
Swearing reproved, 120, 191, 198, 215 
Sword of the Spirit, 172 



Taxes best paid by Christians, 21 
Teaching, divine, 70 

Temper, good and bad, contrasted, Zeal of Polycavp, 103 
194 



Temperance recommended, 219 

Thought, a second, the better, 54 

Time carefully improved, 170, 180 

Times compared. 230 

Tithes remitted, 145 

Tracts, usefulness of, 35, 206, 239 

Transubstantiation, how refuted, 143 

Treachery, how repaid, 90 

Treasure, the better, 223 

Truth in the letter and spirit, 180 

Truth, what is ? 86 

Un expected relief, 176 
Unfruitful tree cured, 84 
Unitarian's, a, reply, 225 
Universalism discarded, 129, 185 

Value of souls, 177, 182 
Verses by a Duke, 10 

War, m'series of, 234 

Warrior, an old blind, 124 

Whitefield, success of his preaching, 7 

W T hitefield and the sailor, 79 

Wife, a bad, reclaimed, 52 

Wild beast, instructive ailusion to a, 

118 
Will- worship, 18 
Wonders, three, 50 

Yoke, Christ's, easy and pleasant, 

15 
Youth cautioned, 195 
Y'outhful teacher, 238 



Zeal in a child, 75 

Zeal, intemperate, reproved, 127 



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